For some reason this part was a lot harder for me to write. It didn't quite turn out the way I had intended, but I hope you guys enjoy (?) it.

Gokudera looked like he was sleeping. Yamamoto stood by the bedside and stared at him as Tsuna quietly slipped out of the room, wondering if he had ever seen the storm guardian this peaceful before.

"H-hayato?" his hand trembled as it hovered above Gokudera and he swallowed heavily, trying to ease the numb feeling radiating from his chest. Could he touch him? He was not sure whether one was supposed to do that. Hesitantly he let it slide against the silver locks, sweeping away the strands that had fallen upon Gokudera's brow and cheeks.

They had cleaned him up, but had done nothing to hide the bruises and cuts covering his fair skin. Gokudera would not have wanted them to do that. He had cared greatly about his looks, being a little vain even, but he had been proud of the scars he had received. Each mark showing the perils he had overcome while serving as a guardian of the Vongola. Each of them symbolized his desire to protect, not only Tsuna, but the other guardians as well as the men who risked their lives for him.

He let his hand linger for a moment, unsure what to do. The skin had turned sickly pale now, intensifying the darkened bruises. Gently he brushed his fingertips against Gokudera's cheek, only to recoil in shock. Cold. He was so cold. Yamamoto's felt his knees give in, slamming brutally against the floor. A strangled sob escaped from the depth of his throat as he slumped against the bed.

"I-I'm sorry, Hayato." Shaking fingers reached out again, this time trailing softly across the Italian's features. "I didn't mean to! I'm so sorry." His vision became blurry and he blinked feverishly, trying to get rid of the tears threatening to spill. Yamamoto brought his other hand to his face, wiping them away with his sleeve. "I was just a little surprised, that's all." He had known. He had told himself that it would be like this. Still, the feeling of it being wrong lingered. He knew it was the Italian lying there, no matter how much he wished for it to be untrue. Despite this, his hands would not stop shaking, because that was not what touching Gokudera felt like.

"What are we supposed to do without you?" the question came out as nothing more than a whisper. Yamamoto let his head rest on the blanket and simply watched the other, waiting for an answer he knew would never come. Instead he kept on caressing Gokudera's cheek, letting the tears stream freely down his own. "Who's going to be Tsuna's right hand man now?" he heard his own voice breaking, but could not stop the words from spilling. "You know I can't do it." He tried to laugh, laugh the way he usually would when trying to lighten the mood, but the sound that came out was dull and lifeless. "Tsuna told me that you wanted me to take over if anything were to happen to you…" he retracted his hand and shifted his gaze to the sheets. "I know I used to joke about it, but how am I supposed to do that without you? You were supposed to be here by my side and scold me and yell at me when I messed up." He attempted another chuckle, but it left his lips as nothing more than a whimper. "What am I supposed to do without you?"

For a moment Yamamoto simply sat there, staring at the sheets. "Why did you have to be so selfish?" his fingers dug deep into the fabric, curling around it until his knuckles turned white. "Why didn't you let me die with you?!" His agonized scream echoed through the room, drowning out the sound of his tears falling onto the bed. "W-why didn't you let me?!" Yamamoto knew he was not being fair, but right now he could not care less. "Why, Hayato, why?" His words morphed into sobs and he clutched the sheet to his chest as the tremors overtook his body.

"You know, I would have done anything for you, Hayato…" his words were muffled against the fabric, but he had no strength to lift his head. "I wanted to be by your side no matter what. Even if we stood no chance I would have wanted to be by your side." Would they have made it if he too had been fighting? He would never learn the answer to that now. "Just being by your side would have been enough." But he knew that had he seen a way to save the other guardian he would have done so without any hesitation. Just like Gokudera had done. Even if it meant having him go through the same pain as he was experiencing now. Because he would have been alive. "I would have done anything."

"Anything for you."