Title : Creed

Author : DnKS – giRLs

Rating : PG

Pairing : D18

Disclaimers: Definitely not ours.

Warning: Er… crack? Dino saying paternoster? Are those enough warning?

There were many things rushing in Hibari's head once the gunshot began. Among which was his inner curse of not really anticipating an ambush. Another thing was his annoyance at having his afternoon perfectly ruined. And one more thing was that gunshot wounds really hurt.

It was so unfitting, he thought as he dropped on one knee, that he should be down once the battle had just begun. Yet his throbbing side demanded his attention and he just could not manage any strength to be up and about butchering those pitiful jerks. He could just watch and curse and managed to bring down anyone impudent enough to approach him. But even then he felt his consciousness slipping. Just when he thought he would surely fall he felt a hand steadying his shoulders.

He did not know whether to feel annoyed at that person for daring to touch him or to feel annoyed at himself for not realizing the other's presence.

"Kyoya…"

That was the only thing he heard, and with that, he knew who was that insolent bitch whose hand lay on his shoulder. He cursed.

"Good, you're still conscious," his… companion said and he felt the other rearranging his hold on him. He blinked. A face filled his vision. A face of a certain Dino Cavallone marred with bloodstains and dirt.

He looked good with blood, he thought with amusement.

He must have lost too much blood to think such nonsense like that, he thought again with a frown.

He had no time for more thinking because the next moment he could feel Dino tightening his holds around his body and suddenly he was not lying on the ground again. He was being lifted. No, cross that, he was being carried in Dino's arms. Carried, like he was a helpless maiden; and with all honesty, he did not appreciate the gesture even the tiniest bit.

"Calm down," he heard the other saying to him in soft reassuring voice amidst some shouting demanding paramedics. And strangely enough, for him at least, he did calm down after hearing Dino's words. He justified his action as the effect of his blood loss, though. That should be it. There was no other explanation why he willingly followed Dino's words without any fight. Yes, that had to be because of his blood loss, Hibari concluded.

He felt his body being dumped to a flat surface. He winced. Damn, his side hurt like hell. And he glared at Dino as if glaring at him would make the pain less in intensity. But even his vision was getting blurry. More than once he needed to blink away the blackness that threatened to overtake him. But even in his dazed state, he could still feel it when something hard and cold being placed against his palm.

Metal, his mind supplied. But what? Gun? Did Dino still want him to fight? As much as he wanted to, he was forced to admit that his body was not up to the task.

Chancing a glance to his palm, he realized it was not a gun. Rather, he could see a silver rosary dangling there, clasped between his and Dino's palms. Dino's rosary, he thought, the one he always had with him everywhere he went.

"Wha…" he tried to say but his mouth had gotten so dry it was hard to speak. He did not believe in Christian God. Hell, he did not believe in any God. So Dino's act was something beyond his comprehension.

"Ssh, Kyoya," Dino whispered into his ear. His face had to be very close to his ear for he could feel his breath tickling his nape. And he could perfectly hear the deep timbre in Dino's voice as he said his next words.

"Father, please take pity upon this poor soul," Dino said, clasping their hands a little tighter together, the silver rosary still dangled from between their entwined hands. "Padre Nostro, che sei nei cieli, sia santificato il tuo nome. Venga il tuo regno, sia fatta la tua volontà, come in cielo, cosÏ in terra. Dacci oggi il nostro pane quotidiano, e rimetti a noi i nostri debiti, come noi li rimettiamo ai nostri debitori. E non ci indurre in tentazione, ma liberaci dal male. Amen."

There was a kiss planted on his forehead after the prayer was finished. Yes, he knew it was a prayer. He had been around Dino for such a long time to recognize those words as a prayer that the young boss always uttered every morning. And though he understood none of the words, though he believed nothing of Christianity, though he knew he should felt annoyed that Dino dared to kiss his forehead so casually like that, he could not deny that there was a feeling of warmth seeping through his weakened body. It felt really soothing, he thought dazedly as he caught the image of Dino's face smiling tenderly at him. It was the last thing he saw before his mind went completely blank.

The next time he opened his eyes, there was no cry of battle, there was no hard cement floor under his body, there was no blood flowing from his gaping wound. But some things remained unchanged since the time he last remembered before passing out. One of them was the fact that his side still hurt like hell. Another was the tender smile he could spot on Dino's face.

"You're awake," Dino said to him from his seat beside his bed.

He only grunted as he instinctively moved his body to search for a more comfortable position. It was a bad idea, he realized afterwards, as it only made his side hurt a lot more than before.

Dino seemed to see his discomfort for he could see the man standing from his seat. With careful hands he helped him sit up on the bed. He had to admit that the deed was carried out better with Dino's help. He sighed in relief when finally he sat, propped up on the pillows against the head of the bed.

"How are you feeling?" Dino asked him, retreating back to his seat.

"Alive," he said shortly.

A chuckle was the response given to him. He eyed the other carefully. His eyes narrowed though he still could not find the reason why he felt somewhat annoyed at his companion. He just knew he should feel annoyed at Dino, but he could not seem to understand why.

It was then he caught sight of the silver rosary dangling from Dino's wrist. If his deathly glare toward said object were acid, the rosary would surely have melted already.

Dino only blinked upon noticing the glare directed toward his seemingly innocent rosary.

"I was praying while waiting for you to wake up," he explained.

Praying, he thought, just like that one time before he lost consciousness. Yes, Dino was praying then. And he dared to kiss his forehead that time. Now he understood why he felt such annoyance toward the Cavallone boss. What he failed to understand was how come he had not yet managed to bite that certain stupid boss to death.

"Like you did that time?" he asked with a dangerous tone.

Dino blinked again, "When you were shot, yes. Why do you ask?"

"You dared," he began. "To place those dirty lips of yours against my skin."

His death threat in the form of sharp glare passed on real nice to Dino. He could see his companion suddenly had a nervous smile on his face. He could see him entwine his fingers tensely.

"Well," Dino said. "It was something like a family tradition. Every time I got hurt my father would always recite The Lord's Prayer into my ear before kissing me on my forehead. It's supposed to make you feel better."

"Last time I checked," he replied. "I am not your child."

"Oh, but Kyoya," Dino grinned at him innocently and cheerfully. "Father also always did that to mother, you see…"

It was one of those times when he really cursed Dino's good reaction. He knew that being a mafia boss surely required him to have good reflexes and skills. But when he saw his masterpiece of the day in the form of a fruit knife jammed to the wall of his room, he could not help cursing at Dino's great ability at dodging an attack. That knife, he thought, should have jammed into that certain blonde haired head, dammit!

Breathing heavily, for his side still hurt after that certain stunt he pulled, he flopped back to the bed. Dino had run the moment his hand reached for the knife. And that stupid blonde even had the nerve to laugh.

He fumed silently as he remembered Dino's words. To make him feel better, that was the reason Dino gave him. Like that was even a reason! But there was a nagging feeling in his heart, reminding him that, yes, he did feel better after Dino recited the prayer and kissed him. That did not mean he forgave him, of course. Should Dino want to do stupid things like reciting him his prayer or kissing him—he twitched—he should have asked his permission. And he would surely say no, before trying to beat him up to a pulp. That, or maybe he would only beat him without offering any answer.

But still…

He clutched the thick blanket that was covering his body as he thought. He did not believe in Christian God, or in any God, so there was no way he could feel comforted by the prayer. He was not someone who appreciated the act of affection, so there was no way he felt comforted by that certain kiss on his forehead. Thinking hard, he could only come up with one reason regarding the warm feeling he experienced the moment Dino whispered those words of prayer into his ear and afterward kissed his forehead.

The rosary must have been laced with endorphin.

- the end –

(A/N: so… yeah, that's it… our first tribute to the KHR fandom. Hope you have a good time reading. Reviews will always be appreciated. The prayer that Dino uttered is supposedly paternoster in Italian. If there's any misspelling please do forgive us since we never found ourselves uttering paternoster in any language else than Latin, English, and Bahasa, so… yea… what the hell are we rambling about anyway? Gah! Anyway… please do leave your review…)