Disclaimer: I do not own Kateikyoushi Hitman Reborn or any of its characters.

Warnings: Rating is for violence, sexual content, and mature themes that are not recommended for the younger audience. This story, as you might have guess have themes of yaoi or boy-love, deal with it accordingly, please.

Author's Note: Yes, I'm alive. I feel extremely bad to leave this hanging, but... let's just say I had been majorly distracted. I feel like I owe it to you guys to at least have some closure. My heart goes out to all of you, especially to Traum Alptraum, psuedoMe, HikaruWinter, Maya-chan2007, Mishera, Kurosawa-Tomoe, CrimsonSkyTamer, YueRyuu, bloodedlust, SecondtoNon, Demitre, heitan, Destructives, Pudding Earl, Shadow Ravon, Takoizumegane, ciiccolatoXvino, Fatal Nightmares, and all my anonymous for taking their time to review always with kind words. To my silent readers, to those who followed and favourited this work. I know that the sudden ending of KHR still gets me every time, but it's legacy will live on through us in the fandom! I am so happy that I'm able to be a part of it.

Now, I've kept you waiting for long enough (isn't that a fact?). For the last time, here's Of Horses and Skylarks, happy reading!

Epilogue

Horses and Skylarks

"Allodola," Cavallone whined, poking his side. The man in question stirred from his sleep, glaring at the older one. Cavallone's midnight locks were gathered in a red silk ribbon, resting on his shoulder. The smile on his face was exuberant, like a child on Christmas Day. "Do you remember when I complained about that portrait my brother gave me and you told me to shut up because I couldn't do better?"

"You woke me up to talk about paintings." Alaude stated as he glared at the other, pushing him forcefully off the bed. Cavallone fell towards the other side, and the sandy blonde turned his back on him. Persistent, the don walked over to where the other was, scooping him up from the bed. Alaude trashed about the hold, "Put me down, Cavallone!"

The man ignored him, carrying him precariously down the stairs toward the main hall. He continued to move about, not caring at all about his personal safety or the don's. He certainly didn't care for the looks he was receiving from everyone else in the house. Cavallone finally set him down when they reached the living room. He hissed angrily at the dark-haired man, "What the hell was that?"

Cavallone only smiled, nodding his head. Alaude's eyebrows knotted in confusion as he followed the other's glance. Up above the big fireplace was a new portrait in an intricate silver frame. In the portrait was his own face, staring right back at him. Alaude walked towards his life-sized portrait, mouth ajar, completely speechless. He reached for the bumpy canvass, tracing the bottom right corner where a messy scribe of 'D. Cavallone' was present. The skylark turned to face the beaming man who spoke then, "I sketched you from memory… and painted this when you were away for Berlin. I'm sorry I couldn't capture your magnificence, allodola, but I tried."

Alaude glared at the man, rolling his eyes. Where did he get all these stupid things to say? It made him want to both swoon and throw up at the same time. It was a stunning piece, but he wasn't about to say that. How ridiculous would he have sounded? Instead hiding his heat up cheeks, he turned towards the painting again and asked, "Why is it here?"

"So that people can see it. It's a picture of the most beautiful thing I own, of course I have to show off." That earned him a good punch in the gut. He curled in towards the pain, but when he recovered, Cavallone embraced the skylark from behind. He rested his chin on the other's shoulder, pulling on his hand. Alaude complied, letting his hand be brought up close to his face. He watched as Cavallone slipped a ring into his ring finger. Blinking off the surprise, he realized that the ring read 'Vongola'.

Fighting the flush on his face he said in a voice with as much irritation as he could, "Where the hell did you get this?"

"From Giotto." Cavallone replied with a mischievous smile forming on his lips. "He asked me to give it to you, but he never said how."

"I don't want it."

"Aw, don't be like that. Ignore the fact that it says Vongola or that it came from Giotto. I'm the one who slipped it on your finger. When you wear this, think of me instead." Cavallone spun him around so that they were facing each other. The blonde have him a peck on the lips before he murmured, "Sure it could mean whatever the others think, but between you and me, it means that you're mine forever, allodola."

Silence ensued. Cavallone was waiting for the sandy blonde to say something… or hit him, for that matter. Alaude looked down, muttering silently, "There is no such thing as forever."

The don chuckled, lifting the guardian's chin to look into those sky blue eyes, "I'll make one."

"Fool."

"That's impossible." Reborn chastised, his face showing his irritation. Dino scratched the back of his neck, sighing. He thought that he would be met with resistance, but what he was getting from his old tutor now was just a bit too much. Shame, he had this conversation premeditated, too. He thought it was an infallible plan… how could he have underestimated the sun arcobaleno? The blonde sat back on his chair, looking at those beady black eyes.

"I don't see the problem, Reborn. That kid is a Cavallone through and through… he may not be my son, but he's the closest candidate for my succession." Dino argued once more, feeling that he had repeated that line five million times before. The small man wouldn't budge.

"Dame-Dino. You're thirty-five, you're still capable of creating a legitimate heir. I don't understand why you're forcing me to tutor someone for the role of your successor." The blonde let out a sigh once more, sitting back on his seat. The two of them were in a balcony in the Vongola base. The blonde had personally made a trip so that he could speak with Reborn, but so far… it had been tricky to even get the tutor to be interested in what he was saying. His cousin's eldest child was beginning high school back in Spain. The just hit the proper age to begin training to be the boss—though Dino doubt he even knew that his family was in the mafia. To the don though, he was confident that he had found his own Sawada Tsunayoshi of the Cavallone. He had no doubt of the kid's prospects after looking into his life… if only the sun arcobaleno would even tap into that potential.

As a reply, Dino stood from where he was previously sitting, leaning against the railing of the balcony. His sienna irises instantly found the skylark he was looking for. Kyouya was downstairs, laying on one of the hidden benches of the front porch. He seemed to be sleeping. The mafioso's eyes remained glued to his lover as he muttered a response, "I am capable, but I'm a hundred percent sure I can't. I wouldn't."

Reborn appeared beside of him, looking now at where he was staring. The arcobaleno didn't say anything. He just stood by the railing, silently contemplating. It had been a couple of years since Dino had managed to crack through Kyouya—he hadn't let go since. The affections they had towards one another were the same as it had been since the first time as well, raw and unrestrained. Of course, having this relationship with Kyouya wasn't as how he imagined it would be—but he really didn't care. It was perfect the way it was… much like the skylark himself, perfect in everyway. Dino was certain that he was positively and absolutely in love with his lover, so much so that he had surrendered everything to him.

"You do realize you're gambling away your family's established hereditary tradition… for Hibari." Reborn stated, hiding away his face under his fedora. The former student didn't even bother to look at his teacher, still watching the sleeping skylark.

"I know that already. I'd gamble away my life for him if he wouldn't hate me for it." Dino said with a smile before finally prying his eyes away from his lover. It was truly a gamble, and he was living the dream. He didn't know how he managed to get a hold of such an ephemeral being that wouldn't be bound… and he didn't know how long he could live in the dream either, but that didn't matter. Right now, he was living his life with Kyouya, he would think of a contingency should Kyouya decides to leave him—but then and only then. He looked at Reborn now, his face masked with all the seriousness he had ever mustered his whole life, "Besides, the whole hereditary tradition thing hadn't always been with the Cavallones. Secondo wasn't Primo's son; he was his brother."

"Don't give me that." Reborn chastised, voice still stern. For a moment, the two of them just stared at each other. It felt like either one was waiting for the other to budge… to fold and throw in their cards. No one expected the sun arcobaleno to sigh and mutter, looking at Kyouya. "This kid… he's Cavallone Terzo's ancestral son?"

Life sprung back to Dino's façade when he heard that question, the smile returning to his face. "Yes. His father and grandfathers before had been leader of the Cavallone's branch in Spain. He knows nothing about the Mafia, though."

Reborn stiffled a snicker, looking at him with that familiar shit-eating grin, "That makes it all the better."

Dino was ecstatic, he barely remembered what happened after Reborn had finally agreed to his proposal. He did remember telling his former tutor that he had all the kid's information in the folder he left there with him. He also remembered trying to hug the arcobaleno in joy only to find Leon as a gun pointed in between his eyes. That was a terrible one. But as he walked through the Vongola's main base, he felt like he was floating in clouds. Heh, now that he thought about it, he was. Clouds. How he humored himself. With an amuse smile plaster on his lips he strolled out into the garden, but before he could reach where his skylark was, something glistening on the ground caught his eyes.

Kneeling to pick it up, he realized that the glint was from a ring. To be more precise, it was a silver ring with a deep purple gem hugged by the metal. He examined the Vongola ring confusedly… what in the world was it going all the way here? With a sigh, he made his way to where Kyouya was laying down, sitting up and watching him jadedly as he approached. Dino held out the Vongola ring in his hands, showing them to Kyouya when he questioned, "Care to explain to me why I found this on the ground?"

"It must have fallen off." The dark haired skylark shrugged nonchalantly, making no move to retrieve the ring. Just then an idea crossed Dino's mind. He smiled softly as he moved to where the prefect was. He dropped himself on one knee, gracefully as he could—which really meant he almost hit his face on Kyouya's knee going down. He held out the hand not holding the ring, and Kyouya looked at him amusedly before giving him his left hand. Dino took the hand gently to his, slipping the ring on the skylark's ring finger.

Dino said offhandedly, "Vena amori."

Kyouya looked at him, partly confused. The mafioso continued, "They used to believe that a vein run directly from one's left ring finger to their heart—which was why they wear their bands there to this day. Of course now people know that's not true, but they still do it. They called it vena amori… vein of love."

Dino kissed the ring on Kyouya's finger. The skylark only snorted derogatively, "You still say the stupidest things. It's too big for that finger, it'll fall off."

"I should weld it to your finger." The blond muttered half-jokingly. Dino reached up, and Kyouya met him halfway as their lips touched in a slow kiss. When he pulled away, he said holding Kyouya's eyes with his, "I love you. I may not be able to keep a hold on you, but at least with that ring on that finger, I can remind you that you always have a home in me that you can come back to if you wish."

"I know…." Kyouya ended up mumbling. "… you, too."

Reborn watched the exchange from where he was. Sometimes, he wondered if he was partly to blame for this. Having said that, he thought the least he could do for the Cavallones was to train their next boss considering he had voided Dino's chances of making a heir. The sun arcobaleno was the one who had paired those two up initially, after all. He didn't make a mistake there. There wasn't a stronger student-tutor combo that existed outside those two. He should have known though, the way Dino obsessed about everything pertaining to Kyouya, but he really was the only one who had managed to crack the code with the stubborn skylark.

"Do you think they're going to be all right?" A voiced asked as Reborn heard footsteps joining him. He didn't have to turn, still looking at the couple below the balcony.

"You tell me. One of them is your adoptive brother, the other your guardian. Shouldn't you know?" The small man asked as Tsuna leaned over the railing.

"Hibari-san is the strongest, most stubborn person I know. Dino-san has a way with him." Tsuna laughed, offering an assuring smile to Reborn. "I know they'll be okay. Don't worry."

"Who said I was?" Reborn asked with a smile of his own. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a future-boss to tutor."