It had been an awful day for Mizuki. First, she had woken up late, which caused her to miss breakfast. She couldn't have coffee since the machine was broken, and the lack of caffeine caused her to trip at least six times before leaving her apartment. To add to her misery, she had accumulated an incredible amount of paperwork. She couldn't even take a break today, hoping that working through lunch might prevent her from needing to stay this late. How wrong she was.

At this point, she didn't quite understand what the point of anything was.

She had finished almost everything she had that day, though, yet it was well past midnight. Mizuki locked up her papers in a filing cabinet before she left, separating the finished from the unfinished.

She quickly turned off the lights, locked the door, and began walking down the dark hallway. Having rarely worked this late, almost nothing was discernible in the hallway. It wasn't surprising that most people went home, however, since the Tenth hated to overwork his employees.

Nonetheless, being alone in a dark building slightly scared her, so Mizuki chose to walk with haste. As she approached one hallway, however, she noticed an open door. The lights weren't on, so she assumed that no one was in there. Still, this was very unusual. Most rooms had important information or tools, so leaving a door unlocked and open was incredibly suspicious. No person that worked here would do that.

At this point, her eyes had become accustomed to the darkness and her surroundings. She slowed her march, however, when she recognized where she was. The opened door was to Gokudera's office.

Mizuki stopped walking immediately. She carefully slipped off her heels to prevent making noise as she walked. Moving slowly, she pulled a handgun from the inside of her suit jacket. As quietly as she could manage, she loaded the gun, then stretched out her arms, her index finger placed on the trigger.

She slowly approached the door. Once she reached it, she peered inside, but she could hardly see anything within. She walked closer slowly, trying to make her eyes adjust to the more extreme darkness.

A few seconds later, she was able to discern a figure across the room, facing the back wall. As the figure began to move, Mizuki's breath caught in her throat. She quickly released it, however, when the man's recognizable silver hair became visible.

Gokudera looked over at Mizuki, his pupils dilated and large bags under his eyes. There was a small bandage on his cheek and a larger one that stretched from the middle of his neck to somewhere beneath his shirt. He carefully held an empty wine glass in his hand, standing tall and confidently. In spite of this, Mizuki could tell he was drunk, if not extremely tipsy.

"You're gonna need a bigger one to kill me," he stated, looking away from Mizuki's gun and focusing on the wine bottle on the desk. There was an empty one next to it.

Mizuki lowered her gun and swallowed, putting the loaded weapon on the floor. While she wasn't an amateur when it came to alcohol, she didn't particularly enjoy drinking, and neither did the company she usually entertained. The only people she was around that drank were her co-workers, and she never joined them in such frivolities. Yet she couldn't tell if she was uncomfortable or enthralled by the Gokudera in front of her. Instead of the proud, confident man she always saw, here stood a damaged, depressed individual, seeking reprieve from alcohol.

Gokudera carefully lifted the bottle, filling the wine glass practically to the rim. Even though Mizuki didn't drink, she was pretty sure that wasn't how it was supposed to be done. He held the glass by the stem, swirling it as best as he could without spilling any. She had no idea how he did it, but he succeeded.

He lifted the glass to his lips, taking a long drink from it. The glass was empty when he set it down again.

Before beginning to pour himself another glass, Gokudera looked at Mizuki. "Do you need something?"

She blinked stupidly. She couldn't even remember what she was doing there, other than watching Gokudera breathe. This time, she couldn't help the stutter when she said, "I-I'm sorry. I was just going home. S-sorry... I didn't mean to interrupt."

She turned around and started walking away. Gokudera, however, narrowed his eyes at the movement of her hips. Before she left the room, he cleared his throat and loudly demanded, "Wait."

Mizuki stopped immediately and turned around. Far be it from her to disobey a superior, even if he was inebriated.

"Why'd you work so late?" he asked, lifting the bottle and pouring the rest of the contents into his glass.

She cleared her throat before explaining that she had a lot of work to do for the job they had just completed. Gokudera stared at her the whole time, lifting the glass to his lips and swallowing the remaining liquid simultaneously. He didn't even blink until his glass had been placed on the table again.

"Tch, sucks that you had to do it alone," he muttered. He looked away from her, reaching for something in the drawer of his desk. Although his presence didn't indicate any variance in personal status, his speech obviously indicated his drunkenness.

Her eyes widened at his comment. "Oh, no, I don't mind. I-I didn't mean to sound like I was complaining. Sorry..."

Gokudera placed another bottle of red wine on the desk. "You apologize too much," he stated simply, twisting the corkscrew into the top of the bottle.

"Sorry," Mizuki muttered. "I mean! Uhm..." she looked away, hoping the darkness was enough to hide her blush. She assumed that mistake would've been embarrassing for anyone and it wasn't her feelings creeping up, causing her to blush.

Shrewd as a mafioso should be, however, Gokudera noticed her blush. He liked it. She was too cute when she was embarrassed. He also noticed her staring at the wine bottles, standing in the room uncomfortably.

"I'll just be going, then..." she mumbled, trying to leave a very awkward situation.

Before she could completely turn around, however, Gokudera spoke to her. "I don't recall dismissing you."

Mizuki turned around again, her mouth slightly agape.

"I..." Mizuki began, trying to find the proper words that would let her excuse herself. If anything else happened here, she was sure she'd fall for him all over again, drunkenness and all.

He loudly placed the wine bottle on the desk in front of him, much closer to his side. The corkscrew was perfectly placed for the bottle to be opened. Gokudera folded his hands and narrowed his eyes, staring at her intently.

"Open it."

Mizuki was slightly startled by the request, since she was sure Gokudera was more than capable of opening it himself. She chose to avoid aggravating him, however, and approached the desk, reaching over to grab the bottle. She avoided Gokudera's stare, even though she could feel it. She didn't understand why it made her shiver.

She placed one hand on the bottle and the other on the corkscrew before she began pulling. It was much more difficult than it seemed, and she couldn't even tilt the bottle to pull the cork out. She continued pulling, slowly losing confidence that she could open it.

She must have been concentrating very carefully on the task, since she didn't even notice Gokudera walk over to her. She did, however, notice when he wrapped his arms around her, his chest to her back, his hands atop hers on the bottle, his chin touching her ear as he leaned down.

"Here," he breathed, a smoky, silky smooth sound that soothed her head yet made her heart beat wildly, "let me help you." The smell of alcohol immediately perforated her brain and made her light-headed.

He tightened his grasp on her fingers, effortlessly pulling the corkscrew out and bringing the cork with it. Mizuki didn't even have to turn around and see Gokudera's smirk to know that she was blushing wildly.

Gokudera forced her hand to release the corkscrew and fit his fingers between hers, holding her hand from the outside. The sound of it hitting the floor didn't seem to disturb him as his other hand traced down her left arm until it embraced her left hand as well.

Mizuki honestly could not respond. Her breathing hitched at the feeling of a delicate touch tracing her arm, contrasted instantly by his firm grasp on her hands. She gasped when her hands were released and Gokudera's slammed on the desk at either side of her. Her hands also landed on said desk to stabilize herself.

There was a desk? Ah, that's right. This was Gokudera's office. This was Gokudera behind her, his chest pressed to her back, his mouth so close to her that she could feel his breath on her ear, hear his every inhalation.

Gokudera's right hand went over hers again, this time as lightly as his left.

"You have soft skin," he breathed into her, his voice echoing in her head, the scent of wine on his breath dominating her senses. His hand lay atop hers, his fingers spread out as hers were. He closed his fingers then, taking hers with his. Her hand was enclosed in his fist. Whether or not he was aware, Gokudera's grip on Mizuki's hand tightened, enough so that it made her gasp aloud.

"G-Gokudera-san!" she exclaimed, alarmed. "I..."

She felt his lips move into a smirk against her ear and his fist release hers.

"Ah, sorry," he murmured. She could tell it wasn't sincere.

There was something about his inebriated condition that Mizuki feared. This Gokudera seemed unforgiving and downright vindictive. This was not the man she had liked for so long, that she had wished to see every day she came in to work. She had to leave.

Mizuki began by attempting to pull her left hand out from underneath his, yet the pressure of his hand was too much for her to be able to move.

"Gokudera-san..." she began, quietly so as not to anger who was now an unreasonable storm guardian, "please let go..."

His head came closer to her neck, his lips directly against it as he said, "You'll have to speak up, Mizuki..."

As soon as she felt his lips press a delicate kiss to her neck, she took the chance to pull out her hand and attempt to walk out of his grasp.

Unfortunately, Mizuki seemed to have forgotten the prowess of the storm guardian of the Vongola. He knew what she was going to do long before she did it.

Gokudera used his right hand to use Mizuki's momentum to simply spin her around to face him before returning it to its place on the desk. Now he could see her. He could see exactly how she was lying about wanting to leave. Her eyes were big and dark, her cheeks more flushed than he had ever seen them. Her expression was enough to show that he was affecting her.

Mizuki watched Gokudera's smirk widen when he saw her face, yet she didn't know what was so amusing. She couldn't possibly have appeared to be enjoying this. Her expression must have been one of alarm.

If her appearance hadn't been before, though, it became one as she felt Gokudera's smooth, surprisingly soft lips crash onto hers.

Mizuki couldn't lie; she had imagined this moment several times before, even though she never thought it would happen. Yet she never even considered that it would have happened like this, in their place of work with the object of her affection most likely intoxicated beyond all coherency.

Nonetheless, Mizuki couldn't help but relish the sensation. Even if it wasn't something she had imagined in conditions she didn't approve of, it was wonderful. Gokudera's lips were thin and soft, so much softer than she thought they would be. His nose pressed against hers to express the urgency of the kiss. Still in shock, she couldn't yet close her eyes, and saw his brow furrowed in intense frustration, more so than she had ever seen.

Gokudera leaned in more, his whole body against hers. But he needed more. He needed to be closer, closer to someone who treasured him just to know that he was worthwhile now, in this moment. He moved his hand from her sides to wrap one around her waist and place the other at the side of her head. He felt her hair run through his fingers, her back twitch with the sensation of his arm there. Nonetheless, he pulled her even closer, closer than he thought they could be.

At that movement, Mizuki felt everything from Gokudera-the urgency, the resolve, the pure need for someone. Although she couldn't be sure, this wasn't something merely in the moment; this was something Gokudera felt he needed for some remnant of humanity. She briefly wondered what could have possibly happened on that mission.

The idea slipped her mind, however, as Gokudera pulled away, breathing from his mouth as he did so. His eyes were dark, darker than normal, and they perforated hers. She saw him, then, probably for the first time. His brow seemed to have relaxed, yet the urgency and frustration were still there. She could feel it in his hands, smell it on his breath, hear it through his breathing. Before her was a broken man, damaged for a reason he would probably never tell her. But he wouldn't have to; she would never ask.

Mizuki surprised Gokudera then, placing her hand to the back of his neck and pulling him to her, kissing him so much harder than he had before. Her tongue met his this time, and far be it from him to deny her.

Gokudera pulled her close again, his hand now running down the side of her body. Mizuki felt the urgency again, in how hard his hands pressed against her so she could feel him from his palm to his fingertips. Her hip was beginning to throb from the grip of his right hand, but she would never ask him to let go.

She brought her left hand to the side of his face, feeling it as softly as possible to contrast the harshness of his grip. His cheek was soft, yet covered in a sheet of sweat. Was it sweat?

Without warning, Mizuki pulled away, opening her eyes. As she did so, Gokudera easily lifted her to sit on the desk, her legs spread with him in between. His hands began running up and down her thighs, his fingers pressed heavily on the visible skin.

Mizuki felt this, but she ignored it to pay attention to Gokudera's face; his eyes were red and moist, linked directly to the wetness of his cheeks. She couldn't ask. She couldn't. She shouldn't.

But she had to say something.

"Gokudera... you-"

"You wore a skirt again," he interrupted, the smirk re-emerging on his face. He pressed his lips to hers again, before she said another word. At the same time, his hands traveled beneath her skirt, feeling the skin that wasn't visible.

Mizuki would have gasped again, had Gokudera's mouth not been completely dominating hers. She couldn't process what was happening now. What had happened that led to this, to Gokudera being so incredibly unusual?

That's right; he was drunk. That was the only reason why.

But as the wetness of Gokudera's tears hit Mizuki's face, she couldn't help but think it was something more.

In spite of his hands going where she didn't think she was comfortable, she threw her arm around his neck, pulling him closer. Her other hand flew to his face, wiping the tears away to take them upon herself. Her fingers threaded through his hair, his soft hair that smelled of spice and gunpowder, somehow combining into a sensation that drove her to pull him closer, closer than she ever thought he could be.

His hands traveled further now, moving her skirt up as his hands finally reached her upper thighs. Her skin was so soft, so incredibly supple and soft. It was softer and better than the skin of any other woman he had been with before. They didn't exist to him now. All that existed here was him and Mizuki and her soft, soft skin.

She pulled away from him as she felt his fingers move to the side of her underwear, pulling them off swiftly before she could protest.

He let go of her for a moment to pull back to his own pants, rushing to release himself so he could feel Mizuki so completely, so softly, that he would never let her go.

Mizuki thought she would tell him to stop, that this was too soon, that they barely knew anything real about each other. Instead, she found her hands loosening his tie and unbuttoning his shirt slightly, just enough to expose the wrapping around his shoulder. There was such a large bandage. She didn't want to imagine the injury that may have caused it, but the mental image simply appeared.

She pulled her hands from his neck to reach towards it, just to caress it, let him know that she wanted to take his pain, to share it so he wouldn't be so alone. His hand grabbed her wrist, however, and slammed her back against the desk, his body completely over hers before she could do anything to alleviate his pain.

Mizuki felt Gokudera maneuver himself against her leg, trying to get closer to her. When she looked at his face, however, she seemed to regain her senses.

"Wa-wait, Gokudera!" she exclaimed, without the conviction she had imagined she had. Her breathlessness deprived her of it. The hand that was once holding hers against the desk then moved to trace along her left side up to her breasts, only to grab one and embrace the softness. "W-we-ahhh- don't know enough... about each other! We haven't e-even been on a proper date!"

Everything stopped then. The room wasn't there, the wine bottles weren't there, the desk wasn't there, the corkscrew, forgotten on the floor, had disappeared. Gokudera looked up at her, the smirk gone from his face.

"Whose fault is that?"

Mizuki inhaled sharply, sitting up instantly.

She was at her desk.

In her office.

Dreaming.

It was still dark outside.

She must have fallen asleep at work.

She wondered if Gokudera was still there.