DISCLAIMER: I don't own. If I did, you could be damn well sure there'd be orgies everywhere.

Hibari decided to train Tsuna for his own reasons. Not for the Vongola or even Namimori, but for himself. It's really very simple to understand. Because every time Hibari feels that crunch of tonfa meeting flesh and bone, it's a reassurance that the young boss is here, living, breathing, moving.

Every bruise that appears, discoloring pale skin, tells him that Tsuna's blood is still pumping. Every time Hibari hears him hiss with pain, it's a message that his nerves are still connected. Every panting breath, while the soon-to-be Decimo is on the verge of exhaustion reminds him that the boy's lungs are working. And every drop of blood spilled, from every cut, every scrape, screams that Tsuna's heart is beating.

Because even Hibari still gets flashbacks sometimes, to that day the Vongola boss was pronounced dead. And because he can't ever forget the image of that body filled with bullet holes and pouring blood all over the marble floor until there was nothing left in him, Hibari reassures himself with this.

And while Gokudera yells at him over his "harsh treatment of the Tenth" the Tenth himself comes to the cloud guardian's defense, smiling that familiar same smile that now cuts into his heart just like how Hibari imagines the bullets tore through Tsuna's body. And once again he strikes out during training, tonfas connecting even more solidly than usually, leaving a large gash on Tsuna's arm.

But Tsuna knows why Hibari strikes so hard in training. Just like how he knows everything using that damned Vongola intuition. And because of that intuition, he knows that his future self and Hibari were more than just boss and subordinate. But Tsuna doesn't mind so much as he thought.

And how could he? Sometimes Tsuna can see the desperation in Hibari's eyes, the constant desire for confirmation that he, Tsuna, the Vongola Decimo, is here and alive. It is that look, Tsuna tells himself, that makes him hold Hibari tight when he finds him outside the infirmary, glaring so fiercely at the space where the door was just closed. And it is those eyes, which burn more like ice than fire, that stare at wounds not inflicted by Hibari, and then gleam with a light Tsuna has only seen once before when he was defeated by Mukuro. It's those eyes, Tsuna tells himself, that make him wrap his arms around the man he was once the same age as, and almost cry.

And then Tsuna is the one being held, and the eyes that he had once admired from far away were now so close that his heart skips a beat. Strong arms are almost crushing him into an even stronger chest, but all that he can see is the back of Hibari's well-pressed suit and a mass of ruffled hair black as night. Tsuna thinks he can feel dampness spreading on the neck of his shirt where Hibari's face is currently mashed, but he dismisses the thought quickly as his imagination or remnants of sweat from the training previously.

Hibari's eyes are dry as he looks Tsuna in the eyes once again, and just as the Vongola heir begins to think how awkward this position is, Hibari's lips are on his and any thoughts that he might have had are promptly overridden. How funny! Tsuna thinks, almost hysterically, His eyes are dry but his tongue is wet! And sure enough, the cloud guardian's tongue is in Tsuna's mouth, and is most assuredly, absolutely, wet.

Then Tsuna isn't thinking any more, because somehow they've made it to the floor and Hibari has ripped open Tsuna's shirt. Hands calloused from constant tonfa use are tender as he feels his boss' abdomen, inspecting and searching for wounds that are not there, at least not yet. Until Hibari finally stops, hand over Tsuna's heart, reveling in the beat, the warmth, the life! Then suddenly the rest of his clothes are gone as well, and Tsuna is spiraling down into a world where everything was simply felt, and no thought was needed. For the first time in months, Hibari is content, and he sleeps with his ear next to Tsuna's heart.

The next day at training, Hibari's eyes are less desperate and he strikes less savagely. Days pass after The Incident, and since then Tsuna has vowed that if accosted again, he would reject his cloud guardian. But Hibari grows more and more frenzied in his attacks, and his eyes once again gain that look of disbelief in Tsuna's existence here.

So that night, when Tsuna finds Hibari waiting outside his door

He lets him in.

Oh man, this totally went in a different direction then what I was going for. It's like if I went out to go get some hamburgers or something, but on the way I got a little distracted and decided to eat tacos instead. Different, but still pretty delicious.