Love was an unusual thing. Sort of like a phenomenon. You feel it at the strangest of times. And it can do the strangest of things to people. It can change a once fiery storm to a somewhat calming one - not that a storm can ever be totally calm - a storm that when one looks at it, it leaves the person mesmerized.

Gokudera sighed for the nth time that day. Ever since that unorthodox confession he made to that STUPID baseball IDIOT(He was buzzed! Drunk! There was NO WAY in hell he would say such an embarrassing thing willingly! And Juudaime asked him to! He ignored the little voice in his head that Tsuna only advised him to do so for his own good), Yamamoto has been avoiding him like the plague. Mind you, not that he actually minded.

.

.

.

.

.

Okay, maybe it hurt a little. A teeny, weeny bit.

How ironic was it that the one who urged him to go confess was the one the baseball idiot had the hots for? Not to mention it was confirmed during his confession. Sometimes, Gokudera wished his boss wasn't so dense as to not notice the obviously adoring looks Yamamoto sent his way. Not that he was demeaning or insulting Tsuna, of course, he was still his beloved Juudaime. However, one would think that being a mafia boss would remove some of that innocence. Not that he disliked it, it was actually a trait of Juudaime that he adored, never getting tainted by the dark world and always remaining pure…

ARGH! He was contradicting himself now! He really needed to snap out of it!

Hey… but if Juudaime noticed that he was actually in love with Yamamoto, didn't it mean he wasn't dense? After all he didn't even realise it himself until Tsuna pointed out the obvious hints of affection from him to Yamamoto… Maybe Juudaime was only dense when such matters concern himself?

Okay, seriously, stop it.

He really didn't want to think about it anymore.

Not to mentions it really hurts, like his chest was being crushed under multiple boulders…

Takeshi ruffled his hair in frustration, a rare show of anger. He couldn't concentrate on his paperwork! Tsuna was counting on him to complete these! He couldn't disappoint him! Not now!

But he could remember every single detail of that night, of Tsuna's 24th birthday party. The distinct crushed look in Gokudera's emerald eyes, one that he tried to hide, quite successfully actually. But some emotion unknowingly slipped out, and he had felt so guilty. If that crushed look was just a sliver, imagine what Gokudera had truly felt. Yet, he had just brushed it off with an irritated manner, like how he always does.

FLASHBACK :

The night was dark, but the silver and shape of the person's hair enabled Takeshi to confirm that it was indeed Gokudera. As Gokudera stepped closer to Takeshi, the light that shone in from the party held in the mansion through the balcony doors lit up his delicate and pale features. For some reason, Gokudera wouldn't meet his eyes. Feeling confused, Takeshi gave his trademark smile.

"Haha! Yo, Hayato! You called for me?"

Gokudera averted his jade eyes to the ground, muttering something along the lines about this being for Juudaime. Takeshi felt his eyebrows furrow in confusion. Tsuna? How can calling him out to the balcony, away from said person's birthday party be beneficial for Tsuna?

Gokudera then looked up, eye twitching and face dusted a light pink, breaking his train of thought.

"J..Just so you know, it is for the Tenth that I'm doing this!"

He looked to the side, shuffling his feet nervously, hands clenched into fists.

"Fuck.. this is hard." He cursed under his breath.

Takeshi was completely bewildered at this moment. What could be so difficult to say that it was actually making Gokudera nervous?

Gokudera then spoke up, in one breath. "Ilikeyoubutdon'tgetitwrongthisain'tgonnachangeany thingabouthowyou'restillanidiot"

Takeshi stared.

Gokudera stared back, his cheeks flaming.

Takeshi blinked a few times, before breaking into a wide smile, laughter following. "Oops! Didn't catch that! Could you repeat it? And slowly this time?"

Silence.

Gokudera seethed. "I am going to so wipe out that stupid grin on your face." Whipping out his dynamites, he spoke up once more. "You want me to repeat that embarrassing line?" Imaginary smoke was gushing out of the silver-haired man's ears.

"Haha, sorry Hayato! You spoke too fast for me to catch what you were saying!"

"YOU DIDN'T PAY ATTENTION!?" Gokudera roared, completely ignoring the fact that he indeed, had spoken too fast for anybody but himself to understand what he was saying. He lit the fuses of the dynamites he had on hand, preparing to throw it at the bane of his existence.

"MY FIRST REAL, FUCKING CONFESSION AND YOU DIDN'T CATCH IT!? HUH!?" He snarled, flinging the bombs in the direction of the dark-haired man.

Said dark-haired boy came to a sudden halt in the midst of dodging the 'fireworks', as he dubbed it.

'Confession? First one at that?' were the thoughts running through his head.

Gokudera, upon seeing Yamamoto's frozen stance and expression, ceased his attack on the man.

"What?" He snarled. "Got anything wrong with it?"

Yamamoto robotically turned his head to the direction of Gokudera, a not-quite-smile painted on his face. "Uhh… no. Just that…"

He turned his full body towards the silver-haired man. Blinking rapidly, he questioned, "A confession?"

Gokudera blushed a shade of red previously not seen on Earth('I'm not an UMA!'). "Y.. Yeah. Got a problem with it?"

The black-haired man scratched the back of head awkwardly. "Err…no. Is just that.. I'm not good-looking or anything, so why would you like me?"

Hayato looked at him disbelievingly. "We've known each other for a decade now, and you still think I'm that type of person?"

Takeshi bit his lip. "True…" He averted his hazel eyes, unwilling to meet Hayato's emerald ones. He then spoke up hurriedly. "But –"

He was cut off by Gokudera. "I know. You don't have to trouble yourself to say it."

Hayato took out a cigarette and lighted it, taking in a whiff of nicotine before exhaling it out. He looked into the brown eyes of the man opposite him, unflinching.

"I know you don't feel the same way." He scoffed. "In fact, I even know that you're in love with Juudaime. Not that you deserve such a honourable person like him" He added on darkly.

Takeshi's eyes widened at his secret being said out loud. "Wha—" He exclaimed, before being cut off again.

"Please." Hayato rolled his eyes. "It's so obvious, at least to me."

"How—"

"With those sickeningly loving gazes you shoot him when you thought he wasn't looking."

"When—"

"About two years ago, give or take."

Takeshi grew silent. 'That's the entire durationin which I was in love with Tsuna …'

"Then…about when you started, you know, liking me?" He inquired quietly.

Hayato threw a cigarette butt onto the ground and stamped it out, lighting another one.

"Eight years." He replied. (Yes, it took Tsuna that long to convince him.)

"When—"

"Byakuran." Hayato cut off yet again.

"Oh."

Hayato rolled his eyes. "Get back into the party, idiot."

"Wha—?"

"Juudaime must have noticed our absence by now."

Takeshi's eyes lit up, just a little, but it didn't go unnoticed by the bomber.

"Okay. And what about you?" He looked towards the bomber warily.

"I wanna finish smoking."

As Takeshi went back into the ballroom to re-join Tsuna, he didn't see the tears streaming down Hayato's face, and the shaking of his shoulders, as he broke down for the very first time.

FLASHBACK END.

Takeshi still liked Tsuna, there was no doubt about that, but pity began to well up in his heart for the emerald-eyed right-hand man of his love interest. Was he feeling the way he felt whenever he saw Tsuna with Hibari, a couple obviously in love? Somewhere in his heart, he wanted to give Hayato a chance, and move on from Tsuna, but he couldn't. He just couldn't let go. And he didn't want to let anybody take the place of the beautiful brunette who took up the first place in his heart.

With a sigh, he continued working on the stacks of paperwork waiting for him to complete them.

Uhh, hey people! This is my first yaoi fic, be gentle with me! This story will most likely be a seriously multi-chaptered, and somewhat angsty fic. Reviews are well accepted, same goes for constructive criticism. And PLEASE I need tips to improve my writing. This story is like…mediocre at best as compared to other romance fics I have read… I'm kinda disappointed…

Please do drop a review! Oh and if you have any other pairings and story ideas you would like me to write, please state some in the reviews. I'll dedicate them to you, if I can manage to write it out! Thanks!

Love,

Yuuki.