Happy birthday, Hibari! This is my humble offering. I wonder how old Hibari will be this year? Probably "?" again...

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this fic.

Akira Amano owns Reborn, and I am making no profit from this story.

Elaborate paintings on the wall, barely visible from his place on the bed. Muted laughter and cheers carried up and through the carpeted floor from the room below. Full moon hanging lazily in the sky, its bright glow appearing even brighter thanks to the lack of cloud cover. Hot air in his lungs, warmed by uncomfortable proximity and body heat. The uneven flutter of Dino Cavallone's breath across his skin, bringing the smallest hint of colour to his cheeks. This night was no more special than the last they had spent together, regardless of what Cavallone said.

Hibari Kyouya shifted uncomfortably and bared his teeth. The room was too large. The house was too noisy. The moon was too bright. The air was too heavy. He missed Japan, having spent the last few weeks in Italy to assist the Vongola with a territorial dispute. And worst of all, Cavallone was holding him far too close.

It was all too intimate, too comfortable, too possessive... but he would not panic nor struggle like some weak herbivore caught in a trap. He would not flee, either; instead, he would leave it all behind, calmly and without a single look back.

Very carefully, with all of the finesse and care one could manage while struggling against exhaustion and a rather possessive pair of arms around one's waist, Hibari slid out of Dino's embrace and his bed. The other man made an odd sound when the Vongola Cloud released himself from his grasp, and Kyouya simply rolled his eyes as his lover grabbed a pillow and pulled it into his arms. He noted with some annoyance that the Cavallone Boss had wasted no thought on neatness when undressing him; their clothes lay strewn across the floor, creased after being carelessly dropped on their way to the bed. Narrowing his eyes at the mess, Hibari walked across the room on the tips of his toes, bare feet completely silent against the carpeted floor. Another loud cheer sounded from the room below as he made his way across the room to first and most uniquely identifiable article of clothing he'd been wearing when he'd entered the room; the dark purple dress shirt he'd been wearing under his suit jacket. Unfortunately, the noise from beneath them prompted a groan from the Cavallone Boss, and Hibari could only assume that his lover had finally awoken. He would not be making the clean getaway that he wanted to make.

Dino groaned, blinked rapidly to rid his eyes of the heavy feeling of sleep and stifled a yawn with the back of his hand. He'd been sleeping quite peacefully until the noise from the Famiglia's Quarters below had roused him, at which point he'd rolled over and realised that Kyouya was slightly more pliant than he should have been. He opened one eye just in time to see Kyouya grab his discarded shirt from the mess of clothing on the floor and sling it over his shoulders nonchalantly, neglecting the job of fastening the buttons in favour of searching for the rest of his clothes. He almost felt like sighing at the sight; although their relationship had spanned many years and meetings such as this one, Kyouya still felt the need to make Dino feel like a bad host and lover by leaving in the dead of night without so much as a goodbye. Their relationship wasn't exactly the most formal of arrangements; it followed a basic pattern of meeting followed by fighting followed by falling into each other's arms, but it was formal in the sense that Dino had been monogamous from the moment he'd realised his feelings for Kyouya ran deeper than sparring and sex. He didn't know about Kyouya's feelings and he never risked asking, but if he had been giving off the impression that his lover was an unwelcome guest once they were sated, he'd been doing it unintentionally. They were connected by some invisible line that fate had seen fit to weave through every wound and bruise and searing kiss they received from each other, and Dino didn't want his feelings to be wasted on a lost cause. But Kyouya was not a lost cause yet, not by a long shot. He would be the only one to decide when to give up on the Vongola Cloud, and he would try to hold onto him with all of the strength he possessed to prevent that from happening.

Exhaling softly, Dino sat up and watched as Kyouya re-buttoned refastened the buttons on his shirt. The other man's eyes were heavy-lidded with exhaustion, and Dino resisted the urge to smirk as Kyouya rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and yawned. Kyouya always looked innocent when he yawned, and Dino found it rather endearing.

"Hey, Kyouya," Dino said. His own voice was still a little husky from tiredness. Kyouya didn't seem surprised to hear his voice - not that anything much ever surprised Kyouya - so Dino could only assume that he'd taken his earlier groans and yawns as affirmation that he'd returned to the waking world.

"Yes, Cavallone?" Kyouya replied. He didn't bother to turn around to face Dino as he answered, and the other man smirked; he apparently didn't see the need to dignify anything Dino said by paying him proper attention.

Cavallone remained silent, and Hibari grit his teeth. He didn't understand why Cavallone insisted on irritating him in that way, why he insisted on saying his name apparently just for the sake of hearing it roll off his own tongue, why he insisted on holding him close and trying to make him stay when he should realise that it was a futile effort. He walked back towards the bed, stepping over and around Cavallone's discarded clothing as he went. His pants and underwear lay by the side of the bed, partially obscured by the bedsheets. They were dangerously close to Cavallone, Hibari noted with some annoyance. The older man was watching him with some odd emotion on his face that Hibari didn't want to bother with deciphering, lest it led to distraction.

The moment that the Vongola Cloud was within arm's length, Dino's hand grasped his wrist and pulled him forward until he was balance precariously on the balls of his feet. Hibari immediately tried to move away, but Dino's reaction was faster still. They fell back against the bed in an inelegant tangle of limbs and expensive silk sheets, and Dino was not half as clumsy in his movements as Hibari had come to expect from him. Dino's soft laugh did not carry a single hint of discomfort or surprise as they fell, and his arms slid around Hibari's waist with ridiculous ease. Hibari resisted his body's natural reaction of flight or fight for a brief second before he pulled one arm free of Dino's embrace and threw his clenched fist at the Cavallone Boss, dearly hoping that the blow would connect because he certainly didn't want to run. Dino avoided his punch easily, far too easily for the small amount of room he had to move, and Hibari cursed the fact that he'd agreed to meet in the Cavallone Villa in the first place. Had they met in a hotel in town or anywhere else but here, Cavallone would be nursing a bloody nose and he would have been gone. He certainly didn't want to give the impression of weakness by bending to Cavallone's will, but he let himself fall back onto Cavallone's chest. He would insist that exhaustion that caused him to submit so easily, if need be. And if Cavallone dared to imply that he actually wanted to stay...

"Kyouya," Dino said with a sigh, pulling back a little as Hibari made another valiant attempt to free himself from his grasp. "Kyouya, calm down."

Hibari stopped struggling after that, and suddenly felt so pliant and limp in Dino's arms that Dino wondered if he'd held on a little too tight and caused him to pass out. However, he made an incomprehensible sound of annoyance when Dino moved him, and it soon became clear that he'd simply reached the conclusion that struggling was far more herbivorous than making some half-hearted attempt at nonchalance.

Dino sighed and readjusted their positions until he'd rearranged both himself and Kyouya in a more comfortable pose, though he suspected that Kyouya simply went along with his touches and directions out of curiosity or boredom. Eventually, he found himself sitting up with back resting against the headboard of the bed. Kyouya was sitting between his legs, facing him and making a particularly admirable effort to avoid eye contact. He didn't look embarrassed for being caught or shy in any way; if anything, he simply looked irritated.

"I don't want you to leave," Dino said plainly. Charm and pretty words never worked on Hibari; the direct approach was always the best.

"I don't recall asking for your opinion, Cavallone," came Hibari's reply, and Dino smiled.

"I'm only saying what I really and truly mean," Dino said, amusement rich in his voice even as Hibari narrowed his eyes and raised his right hand to push him away. He caught it again - and Hibari almost snarled in response - and drew Hibari closer in order to kiss each of his knuckles in turn.

"Cavallone..." Hibari said, and there was definitely warning in his tone; enough to make a lesser man drop the contact and slowly back out of the room as if he'd just been faced with an enraged wild animal. But it only served to make Dino's smile brighter, and he eased each of Hibari's tense fingers outward and brushed his lips across the middle of his palm. With a soft but firm touch and a great deal of patience, Dino gently slid the purple dress shirt from his former student's shoulders and tossed it towards the end of the bed. He almost smiled when it slid against the silken sheets and fell to the floor, causing Hibari to flinch in annoyance.

"You don't need to run off so soon, Kyouya," Dino murmured, brushing the tip of his tongue across the soft curve of the heart line on Hibari's palm before nipping at his wrist. "I don't mind having you around, you know."

Hibari stayed perfectly still and refused to make a single sound. His gaze was still fixed on anything but Dino's face. Dino hummed thoughtfully and pressed kisses up the length of Kyouya's arm, pausing just above his elbow to graze his teeth across his former student's flesh. His teeth made a soft pink flush appear on Hibari's pale skin, but the younger man seemed intent on ignoring his advances.

"If I made you feel unwelcome, I'm sorry," Dino murmured, lips brushing across the curve of Hibari's shoulder, warm and nearly feather-light. "If that's the case, please tell me. I don't want you to leave."

Hibari remained stubbornly silent, but his body was beginning to react to Dino's touches. Gooseflesh rose along his skin as Dino ran his own blunt fingernails along the inside of his arm, and he shivered and came close to making noise when Dino kissed the side of his neck. The moment that Dino pulled away, Hibari hissed in irritation at his own weakness and looked as if he was considering the merits of knocking Dino out cold and escaping through the window to the terrace below. Dino smirked, but refused to say anything at all as Hibari finally, finally met his gaze with a glare that froze his heart and warmed his body all at once.

"You know, Kyouya..." Dino murmured as he moved closer yet again, teeth nipping at Hibari's earlobe and breath warm on the shell of his ear, "you can can call this place home any time you want or need to."

This time Hibari made noise; a near-shout of surprise left his throat as Dino grabbed him, drew him close and kissed him deep. When they broke away from one another, Hibari's eyes were dark with unspoken emotions and his hand was fisted in Dino's hair. Dino had one hand on the back of Kyouya's neck and the other resting on the small of his back, possessive and irritating and so utterly satisfying that Hibari was no longer sure of what he wanted.

Hibari hissed as Dino's fingertips followed the curve of his spine up to rest on his shoulder blade. "You make a convincing argument, Cavallone."

"Thank you, Kyouya," Dino chuckled, and he pressed a kiss to the top of Hibari's head when the younger man gave a defeated, slightly irritated sigh and fell against his chest.

"I will stay here for tonight."

"I'm glad to hear it."

"Tonight only."

"Of course," Dino said with a small smile, and he held Hibari just a little closer. "Now, can we go back to sleep?"

Hibari nodded once, and Dino rolled them both to the side, pressed a gentle kiss to his lover's lips and shut his eyes. The cheers of his men once again rose through the floor from the room below, and Hibari made a discontented sound and shifted in Dino's embrace.

"Tell your herbivores to be quiet before I bite them to death."

"Hey now," Dino murmured, arms shifting to Hibari's waist to hold him still in case he decided to try and go through with his threat, "they haven't had much to be happy about for the past few weeks. The fights breaking out on the territory borders have ensured none of us have. Let them have this chance to celebrate, Kyouya. Even if the reason isn't to your liking."

"Tomorrow, you will spar with me," Hibari demanded, voice laced with intent. "Alone. In exchange for not leaving now to beat the celebratory feelings out of your crowding men."

"Of course," Dino replied, brushing his lips across Hibari's temple to seal the promise with a kiss. "Anything you want. Oh, and Kyouya?"

"Yes, Cavallone?"

"Buon compleanno, Kyouya. Ti amo."

Any protest Kyouya tried to make was cut off by the gentle warmth of Cavallone's lips and taken from him with the same enthusiasm with which his ex-tutor was taking his breath.

Perhaps this night was more special than Hibari had anticipated.

END.

Comments are always greatly appreciated.