Yes or No?
Pairing: TYL!1827
Rating: T
Warnings: may contain OOC
Summary: "No." Every time Tsuna confessed, he got rejected. Every time he said the word 'no,' he shattered a little piece of the Vongola's heart and he'd end up cursing himself for being cowardly. Why couldn't he just say it? – TYL!1827

Tsunayoshi, I love you.

"Hibari-san…I love you…" Pink delicately dusted his cheeks – blushing cutely as his body slightly trembled with chocolate brown orbs gazing at him longingly.

How many times was it now? Hibari had lost count. No. That wasn't true. He knew but he refused to admit that he had been keeping track. Hands slipped into the pocket of his pants and lips slowly curved into a demeaning smirk.

"How revolting." For a split second, Hibari saw his body flinch and a look of sadness reflected in his eyes. But quickly, it disappeared and he regained his normal composure.

Every time the Vongola confessed, Hibari repeated the exact same words. It should have been clear by now and yet, Tsuna never backed down. Silence swept the air, entrapped in a dimly lit room that barely shone on their face.

"I know…" His voice was quivering despite the many rejections he's already received.

It's not that Hibari didn't love Tsuna. In actuality, he did. But, he couldn't bring himself to accept the brunette, no matter how many times he had to crush his heart. Just say it already. Deep down, he wanted to tell him, to say it, those words – I love you. But each time he tried, he couldn't open his mouth. His throat would turn dry as he struggled to breath – gasping for air. Those words refused to come out, caught in his throat.

And when he did speak, he'd say something he never meant to, something hurtful that tugged at his heart strings as he saw the expression he had cause. A face filled with pain, biting back the tears that threatened to form in his eyes.

"If you know, then don't try again." No. That wasn't what he wanted to say. Stop it.

"I know. I still love you." His pink lips curtsied into a faint smile, staring at the guardian. But he wasn't fooling Hibari. Beneath that exterior, under those caramel brown orbs was pain and he could see it clearly.

Scoffing, the guardian rolled his eyes at that comment, acting as if he didn't care. Without another word, his body shifted away from the brunette and he stepped towards the door. The distance between them widened, Hibari leaving while Tsuna just stood there, next to the window.

A hand gripped around the door knob, pulling it shut behind him once he was out. His feet froze in place, not budging an inch and he paused for a moment. Quietly, he listened for a sound, waiting as the seconds ticked by but he wasn't going to leave until he confirmed it.

In just a few minutes, he heard it – the sound of Tsuna's cries. He clicked his tongue, softly laughing to himself at how pathetic the Vongola was. But he already knew that each time he confessed, when the prefect left the room, he would cry.

Soft whimpers could be heard behind the door, sniffles mixed in with his murmurs. He may have put up a brave front but he was weak. A weak herbivore. Fingers slipped off the metal surface, letting go of the door knob. His foot lifted from the ground, taking a step forward and he left the place – Tsuna's room.

His confession and Hibari's rejection was like a ritual, that occurred every now and then, the same thing happening over and over. A sigh escaped his lips and he held down the anger boiling inside – irritated at himself for being useless. Why couldn't he just say it? It was simple.

Eyes flickered open, blinking a few times as his vision focused on the ceiling. Hibari woke up with a start, beads of sweat slowly dripping down the side of his face. For a few minutes, he spent his time staring at nothingness but the charcoal paint clouding the ceiling. Darkness filled the room as a faint light shined through the window.

His breathing was ragged and his chest throbbed, a prickling pain dulling his heart. Why did he suddenly have a dream about Tsuna? A confession to boot. The one he had received last year.

Irritation welled inside his stomach and he tugged at the blankets wrapped around him, tossing them off his body. Legs swung to the side and the guardian slipped out of the bed. He needed to clear his mind and the best way was to immerse himself with work.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Hibari!"

The doors burst open and in came an angered silver-haired. The veins on his neck were visible, looking as if they would pop any moment as his eyes lit with fire. Storming into the room, he slammed his hands against the hard surface, vibrating the desk.

"Get out." Hibari hissed, not in the mood to deal with these annoying herbivores. They were like buzzing flies that needed to be swatted away and the guardian was in no mood to deal with him.

"I'm not leaving!" Gokudera growled, grinding his teeth together. "What did you do to the Tenth?"

An eyebrow rose, perplexed at that question thrown at him. "What are you talking about?"

"He's been depressed lately!"

"How is that my problem?"

"YOU BASTARD!" Fingers curled into a fist and the silver-haired raised his arm, ready to land a punch straight in his face. He'd had enough of the guardian's attitude.

Hibari watched the silver-haired with disinterest in his eyes, not even flinching a bit from his threatening demeanor because Gokudera wasn't going to hit him as long as he was there. Yamamoto snatched the silver-haired's wrist as it was close to hitting Hibari's face. Roughly, he pulled the arm back behind and a loud growl erupted from his lips, biting back at the swordsman for stopping him.

"Now calm down Gokudera. Tsuna won't be happy." His tone of voice was kind but yet, there was sharpness to it. He was restraining himself as well from barking and Hibari could feel it. Despite the outer shell that showed his gentleness, there was a small crack that leaked a faint whiff of hatred.

Gokudera calmed down upon hearing that comment, quieting himself. His arms relaxed to his side, and a sigh escaped into the air. "Fine." He mumbled and the swordsman smiled, gently patting the silver-haired on the head – ruffling his hair.

"Stop it." He gently slapped away the hand messing around, hissing at the guardian and earned a laugh from the taller man.

Hibari made a face of disgust at their slight intimacy. "Sorry to interrupt you Hibari," Yamamoto apologized. A hand pressed against the back of the silver-haired and he walked him out while throwing back a menacing glare at the guardian.

Hibari scoffed and returned the favor. The door slammed shut and he buried his hands into his hair – slightly frustrated at the fact that every bit of thing that irritated him had to tie back to the Vongola. Tsunayoshi.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Kyo-san."

"What Kusakabe?"

Dressed in his kimono, the guardian sat down on the straw mats, sipping some tea as he tried to relax himself. Work wasn't doing its job and instead, he came back to his resting room hoping that it could ease his annoyance.

"Kyo-san, I think you should give Sawada-san a chance." The man said, kneeled at the entrance of the door with his head slightly bowing.

Eyes blinked as he slowly turned to look at the man. "What?" He asked in a stern tone. With an arched brow, he crossed his arms against his chest and glared at Kusakabe.

A strained expression filled his face, somewhat regretting what he said but, he was only voicing his opinion. "…I think it's about time."

"Kusakabe. Are you giving me orders?" Hibari growled, anger rising in his voice, just about ready to bite the man.

"N-No." Kusakabe's hands shook wildly, rejecting the idea. He took in a deep breath, eyes lowering to the floor for a brief moment before he gathered enough courage to look back at Hibari. "I'm just thinking that, if you keep it up, he'll probably give up."

Hibari tilted his head – giving him a look that he needed to expand more on that thought because he wasn't quite understanding. Eyebrows contorted, a strained expression filling his face as his lips pressed into a tightly knit line – troubled.

"I-It's," He stuttered, nervous. He really shouldn't be doing this but after having watched the guardian for so long, he felt that it was in his best interest to push him forward. "Kyo-san, how would you feel if Sawada-san were to get married?"

What? Of course he would be infuriated and no, he would never let that happen. Suddenly, he felt anger boiling. Fiery orbs glared at Kusakabe and the man backed away a little, knowing that he had hit Hibari's soft spot. Hands balled into fists, knuckles cracking loudly and he restrained himself from bursting into a violent rage.

"Even though you reject him, he won't always be coming back. I mean, there probably isn't a next time…" His voice trailed off near the end at Hibari's sudden burning demeanor. There was a dark aura enveloping around his body but, it quickly disappeared in mere seconds.

At that thought, Hibari's face went blank, void of any emotions. Smog dissipated across his eyes, staring into emptiness. That idea of Tsuna no longer loving him had never occurred. Because, without fail, every year, starting from the first time they met, he had confessed. It's been ten years since then. Ten years of him rejecting the brunette's feelings – rejecting his own as well.

He felt a jolt at his head, a slowly throbbing pain making its way in. Pressing his fingers against his temple, he rubbed at his head, trying to massage away the pain but it didn't go away. His head was pounding and it hurt, like his dull heart that he'd injured each time he spoke with the brunette – throwing cruel words at him.

Disgusting. Pathetic. Worthless. And yet, Tsuna still loved him. Wait, loved. Could it be that Kusakabe was right? Was it really coming to an end?

His chest tightened, breathing thinning out as he gasped for air, feeling a little light-headed. He clutched at his shirt, holding on tightly and he laughed at the weak state he was in. He brought it upon himself. If only he had said it, accepted him the first time Tsuna came to the guardian. I love you.

Why couldn't I say it? An exasperated sigh escaped into the atmosphere, sweeping the silent room as he grieved over his stupidity, his incapability to do the right thing. He clutched his head in frustration, unable to keep his cool as his anger exploded, washing over him like a volcano. Hibari bit his lip until the tip of his teeth slit a part of his skin, blood slowly seeping out and he could taste the iron when it brushed against his tongue.

This wasn't helping him. Just sitting around made him think even more and it was tearing the guardian apart.

I forgot my documents. Again, work was the one thing he could return back to. If he kept himself busy, maybe – if no one interrupted him – he could get the Vongola out of his mind.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The migraine was still there, pounding loudly against his head as if someone was hitting him constantly with a bat over and over again. Wobbly feet dragged his sluggish body down the hall as he made way to his office.

Upon entering his room, he was taken aback by what he found. Eyes widened, and his muscles throbbed, feeling his eyes getting watery from the strain of having them opened. What is this?

Staring at the glass window, there was graffiti written on it. The ink was in purple but it wasn't any normal graffiti. They were numbers and it seemed like a code or some type of message. However, what actually surprised him was that it was addressed to him.

Hibari-san,

4056830968

~ Tsunayoshi ~

That was what was written on the wall but there was more. Next to the message was a hand drawn picture of a cell phone and Hibari couldn't help wonder what it meant. Eyebrows knitted together as a look of confusion filled his face.

Did it have to do with his cell phone? A hand slipped inside his pocket and he pulled out the device. Flipping it open, he checked his message but there was nothing. Maybe, it was some sort of code he had to decipher?

Creating a new message, he typed in the numbers and it spelled something out.

I love you.

Oh. He felt himself turn red for some odd reason even though the Vongola declaring his love wasn't something new. But this – this method – was new. Tsuna had never once confessed to him in a roundabout way; it was always face to face, inside his room and nowhere else except for the first few years where he had proclaimed his love at Namimori.

Just tell him already. If he didn't do it now, he may lose Tsuna to another. Was it time for him to shed his cowardly shell? It was.

With trembling fingers, the guardian dialed the Vongola's number and held the phone to his ear. He waited for a few seconds before the first rang went off. A second came and then a third. Anxiousness bubbled inside and he felt the need to drop the call but he didn't.

Just before the fourth ring came on, the line picked up and he heard the brunette's sweet voice tickle his ear. "Hibari-san?"

"Tsunayoshi." Do it now.

"Hm?"

It was now or never.

"I love you." It was done.

And then, the line went dead. The Vongola hung up and Hibari was puzzled. Did they lose signal? No, his bars were full. Did his battery die? Of course not. Did his? Most likely not. It couldn't have been a coincidence. Did Tsunayoshi just really hang up on me?

As he was brought into a state of panic, the door opened, creaking loudly and his attention was caught. Curious and lost eyes were placed upon the entrance, about to toss his tonfa at the intruder for interrupting him but what he found wasn't anyone he wanted to kick out.

It was the one person he had been longing to see.

"Hibari-san…" He was crying – the crybaby that he tended to be when he would seclude himself alone in his room. A weak herbivore indeed.

Sweet tears rolled down his cheeks, soaking his face but despite the salty tears, he was smiling. "It took you long enough…" he whispered, sobbing quietly.

Really. It did. And he should have done it sooner but his pride got in the way. His spinelessness stopped him from saying the one thing he'd always wanted to voice to the Vongola ever since the day they met. "I love you Tsunayoshi." He whispered when he stood face to face with the brunette, a voice barely audible.

"I-" Tsuna started but was hushed when a finger touched his lips.

"I know."

A faint smile crept up his lips, watching Tsuna's face turned from pale to a scarlet red. Gently caressing his face, he cupped his cheek and delicately kissed him. "I know."

Author's Note. Uh. Well. I was in the mood to write some angst/hurt/comfort and this is what I came up with. Hibari finally admitting it but I really liked how Tsuna confessed. ^^; How cute. And yes, that's T9 texting ^^

I really wanted to write a fic with Hibari's point of view, ugh sadly, I could only come up with a one-shot…for now at least unless something hits me again. Come on writer's block!

But anyways, I guess it was sort of jumpy so I hoped no one got confused. And also, I hope you guys enjoyed the short read!

Reviews are loved :)

[Edited] Actually, scratch that. It won't be a one-shot. I might make something of this story, so, it'll get a chapter 2 :)