Gokudera sighed heavily as he stood outside of Tsuyoshi Yamamoto's sushi bar. He refused to take the final step into the restaurant and decided he will stay outside all day; he doesn't need a part-time job that badly, right?

He gave a disgruntled sigh as he looked down at the scrap of paper he held in his hand,

"4,000 dollars in school repairs..." He grumbled the amount of his debt in frustration. It's not his fault half of the school exploded! It's mostly that stupid cow's fault; pissing him off and throwing grenades at him.

It turned into an explosive fight and Nami Middle took most of the damage. Hibari almost bit the dynamite handling teen to death for ruining his precious school and the skylark ended up leaving Gokudera with the damage fees. His savings will cover the majority of the debt, but he needed to find some other means of collecting money to pay off the rest.

Gokudera refused to bring Tsuna into his mess and ask for a loan; he would be too ashamed to call himself Tsuna's Right Hand Man afterwards.

After a time, Gokudera began to pace back and forth as he tried to re-think his options, but every job interview he had gone to ended in disaster; his silver hair, bulky rings, and fierce gaze scared off any potential work he had lined up. So he now arrived at his last resort and couldn't even step in the door, how pathetic.

"Gokudera?" A bright, questioning voice came from the now open door. Gokudera went rigid and stopped his pacing mid stride,

"A-Ah, Baseball Idiot, mornin'" Gokudera, slightly flustered at the sudden appearance, stammered out the greeting.

"Morning, do you want to buy some sushi or are we going to go play Mafia again today?" Yamamoto laughed off Gokudera's awkwardness and flashed him a benign smile.

"No, um..." He steeled himself for the embarrassing act he was about to do; he quickly bowed his head to the raven,

"May I work here?" Afraid to raise his head, he stared at the ground in anticipation and a slight blush crept onto his face despite himself. Gokudera could feel Yamamoto's stare piercing his bent figure, but the tension was erased with a blitheful laugh,

"Sure, pops was just talking about needing another hand around here." Gokudera rose his head, all embarrassment forgotten at the news, as he produced a jubilant smile that made Yamamoto stare at him with a reticent expression.

Gokudera's smile faded sheepishly as he caught Yamamoto's intense gaze,

"S-Stop staring baseball freak and let's get inside, it's fucking freezing out here." He stuttered slightly with a florid complexion. Yamamoto's slightly dazed eyes refocused and he showed one of his dazzling smiles as he opened the door for them to enter through.

"Pops, Gokudera is here and he wants to work for us." Yamamoto chaffered Gokudera to the bar where his father was doing prep work. Tsuyoshi looked up from his preparations and at the two young boys,

"Good morning Gokudera-kun, so you want a job?" Gokudera straightened and replied quickly,

"Yes." Tsuyoshi chuckled softly at the boy,

"Well I guess there isn't any other choice, Takeshi, show him around." Gokudera bowed his head courteously to the elder gentlemen, not feeling any embarrassment this time. Yamamoto took the initiative to usher the young mafioso into the kitchen by the shoulders. The raven excitedly rambled on about how much fun they'll have together, but as Gokudera peered at the idiotically happy person next to him he felt that things weren't going to go as planned.

Yamamoto took him through out the kitchen, showing him the pantry, fridge, and tools they use to make sushi.

"Have you made sushi before?" Gokudera looked at the ingredients laid out before him on the work table,

"I've never actually made sushi but I've read how to make it." He confidently rolled back his sleeves and brought the desired ingredients closer to his person. As he applied a thin layer of rice to the dried seaweed he could feel Yamamoto staring at him attentively. He tried to ignore the nervous feeling those eyes produced as he put shrimp and cut vegetables on the rice, using the bamboo mat to role it perfectly.

Gokudera looked at his creation with satisfaction as he took hold of the knife, moments before cutting the long role he felt Yamamoto lean in closer to watch; his breath ticking the inside of his neck. Gokudera's heart leapt in his chest as he tried not to focus on the warm breath and it's owner,

"Ouch, damn it." Yamamoto immediately reached around the shorter boy and grabbed his cut finger; bringing it closer to his face to inspect it,

"It's not that deep of a cut. You just need to disinfect it and put on a bandaid." The altruistic boy gave a relieved smile that said 'Be more careful' as he squeezed his hand gently. The silverete produced a slight red hue on his cheeks as he turned his head away in a pout, cursing his carelessness.

Yamamoto's smile disappeared as he looked at the wound again, his eyes flicked from Gokudera's pouting face to the bleeding pointer finger. The raven brought the finger to his lips and slowly sucked at the cut, licking the wound repeatedly.

Gokudera tensed at the action, a strange feeling enwrapping itself as he felt the warm tongue run over the small part of flesh,

"W-What are you doing?" His face grew hot as he pulled his hand away from Yamamoto's grasp.

"Hm? I'm disinfecting it." He laughed innocently as he scratched his head.

"Wha- disinfecting? There's medicine for that sorta thing, idiot." He tried to produce an angry tone, but the strange feeling he had hadn't yet disappeared and it sucked the venom out of his words. Yamamoto reached into a drawer nearby and retrieved a bandaid as he spoke,

"Sorry, I couldn't seem to help myself." Shocked, Gokudera stared at him, not quite realizing that his hand was being brought forward and the bandaid applied gently, "Couldn't help your-"

"Welcome!" Tsuyoshi's voice rang out from the front room.

"Looks like we have customers, come on." Yamamoto smiled at him as he spun around to the blue curtain that lead into the sushi bar. Gokudera grumbled underneath his breath as he reluctantly followed the happy raven.

As Gokudera skillfully cut the salmon for the Sake Nigiri he couldn't help but look over to his right where Yamamoto stood. The raven-like hair fell over his forehead; barely getting into his eyes as he bent over his sushi. His eyes were serious, but not as serious as when he's playing baseball. They were the perfect mixture of carefree and seriousness, they were so compelling to look at that Gokudera could barely tear his eyes away.

His chest tightened every time he looked at the young boy and his beautiful eyes. He glances down Yamamoto's body; his well-formed muscles were screaming against his clothes. As the word 'sexy' rose to the front of his mind. He blushed purposely, tearing his eyes away from the muscular body as he re-focused on his cutting task.

He cursed himself for his wandering eyes. He tried to push down the unusual feelings boiling up into his abdomen when he heard a familiar female voice,"Hayato." He went rigid as he slowly, regrettably, looked up,

"A-Aniki..." His stomach lurched and the sensation to puke was strong. Gokudera gave a pained gurgle as he fell to the floor.

Something cold touched his forehead; contrasting the warmth he felt in his hand, and an idyllic voice reached his ears as he awoke from unconsciousness. Gokudera frowned as he saw an unfamiliar ceiling and felt a comfortable bed underneath him, "What happened?" He groaned and placed a hand on the wet rag that adorned his forehead.

"Your sister came for sushi and when you saw her you passed out." A soothing voice came from his left, Gokudera sluggishly turned his head to find Yamamoto with a concerned smile,

"You also have a high fever from standing in the cold for so long this morning." Gokudera felt a warm, reassuring pressure, he looked down to find Yamamoto holding his hand. He would usually get upset at such an action, but his mind was so cloudy from the fever that he didn't mind the touch. Gokudera squeezed Yamamoto's hand in response as he rolled over on his side, still holding his hand tightly as he faced the young boy's direction. In his new position he could clearly see the whole room; baseball trophies and medals decorated the room, but other than that it was relatively plain.

"Is this your room?" He laid feverish eyes on Yamamoto as he waited for the answer.

Yamamoto sat there staring at their intertwined hands in amazement, possibly not believing Gokudera would hold his hand back,

"Oh, yah...pops told me to bring you to my room to rest." Yamamoto looked into his hazy eyes with worry,

"You're so pail, do you want anything?" Gokudera gave a sweet smile; Yamamoto was showing that mixture of levity and equanimity that he loves. He murmured incoherently in response,

"What?" Yamamoto drew closer to him in an attempt to hear his request. Gokudera brought his free hand up to touch the raven-like hair; soft like he expected.

Yamamoto was right over him with wide eyes at his action and the realization of how close there faces were produced a blush.

Gokudera's chest squeezed painfully as their eyes locked, his mind went dark.

With a rough pull Gokudera brought Yamamoto's lips to his. His chapped lips ran against Yamamoto's soft ones, sending electricity down his spin.

Yamamoto gave a shocked gasp in between the first kiss and the second, but soon melted into the sweet kiss entirely. Gokudera's lips stopped moving to Yamamoto's surprise and he pulled back with a heavy blush.

"Gokudera..." His voice turned husky as he called the others name. He looked down to the teen to find him soundly asleep, arm still hooked around his neck loosely, and his hand still gripping his tightly. Yamamoto gave a disgruntled sigh as he looked at Gokudera's sleeping face,

"What was that?" He laughed softly, face still red, he bent down and kissed his cheek.

Gokudera awoke to a surprise; Yamamoto laid beside him, hugging him as he slept. "Y-Yamamoto, wake up. W-Why are you..." He couldn't finish the sentence; he was to embarrassed.

Yamamoto shifted, but ended up pushing the silverete deeper into his sturdy chest. He could hear Yamamoto's heart beat over his own pounding one, it was a soothing, rhythmic beat that felt very comforting.

Gokudera rose a tentative hand and slipped it under the baseball players strong arms; hugging him back with gritted teeth as he felt his face flush.

"Stupid baseball idiot." He snuggled his heating face deeper into the warm chest, letting the rhythmic beat of Yamamoto's heart lull him, but the steady beat soon turned erratic.

"Goku...dera." A mellifluous voice called his name softly, but Yamamoto's busy heart betrayed his facade of calmness.

Gokudera brought his hands out from around the boy and placed it on Yamamoto's chest in an attempted to push him away, but the strong arms around his person wouldn't allow it. He gave up after a moment and allowed himself to be enveloped into that warmth once again, his hands were pinned between him and the warm chest, but he liked the opportunity to have his fingers touch the soft cloth and the hard body underneath as he shakily spoke,

"Why are you in the bed too?" Yamamoto buried his face sleepily into the silver hair as he spoke,

"Hmm? Well you were holding my hand so tightly last night that I couldn't leave and ... After 'that' I didn't want to leave." Gokudera moved his head the best he could to look into his eyes as he scowled in confusion,

"What do you mean 'that'? What's 'that'?" The raven took a moment before answering,

"You kissed me." Gokudera looked to him in disbelief,

"Kiss? We...did?" His voice sounded foreign to him as he racked through his memory for some recollection of the unbelievable event.

Then it hit him; the soft lips that had rubbed against his, the shivering intensity of the kiss that made warmth pool in his gut, and the chest tightening sensation that made him feel like his heart would explode. Gokudera put a slightly trembling hand to his lips as he shivered from the memory, he looked up to meet Yamamoto's eye,

"I don't know why I did that... It must have been because of the fever, yah, it was the fever." Yamamoto brought his hand up and touched the redolent silver hair,

"It wasn't the fever." His eyes where serious and there was a mixture of something Gokudera couldn't put a name to.

Gokudera felt an emotion bubble up inside him,

"It has to be the fever! I would never k-kiss a baseball idiot like you!" He shouted in desperation, trying to deny the reality. Yamamoto took hold of the ranting silverete's wrist, flipped him over on to his back, and straddled him,

"Well this idiot likes you!" He paused as he looked to Gokudera's face,

"I like you..." His soft murmur was barely audible as he pressed their bodies closer together and put his head in the crook of the stunned boy's neck,

"I've always liked you. You protect Tsuna with such care that it makes me want to protect you too. So I was glad when you came to our shop because then there was something I could finally do for you." He paused as he gathered his thoughts,

"Being around you became difficult though. This is the first time we've really been alone together; Tsuna is usually always with us. I was nervous and excited when I saw you outside the shop and when I went out there I found you act differently when you're not with Tsuna. I wanted to see the other sides of you, I wanted to touch you; I wanted to kiss you", he laughed gently,

"You already beat me to that though."

Gokudera went rigid under his embrace, he thought he would be disgusted to be pressed up against another man in such an embarrassing position, to be kissed and confessed to like this, but he felt a sensation of relief go through him at Yamamoto's words.

The raven lifted his head and stared into Gokudera's watering, viridian eyes. His tears made Yamamoto's hear break, but he needed to speak his confession once more to make sure he wouldn't regret anything,

"I love you."

A shiver ran down Gokudera's spine at the deepening words of affection. His un-namable feelings up to now finally became clear, he scrunched his face up in an array of emotions and pushed his head forward to kiss him.

The tears and the kiss left Yamamoto nonplussed, but the deep, meaningful kiss was all he needed as confirmation. Gokudera's wrists were released and he ended up clinging to Yamamoto's back as their lips met and parted so many times that it made him dizzy.

Gokudera's lungs burned for air, but the feeling he received from their touching lips willed him not to separate. Yamamoto's body moved unconsciously; grinding against the silverete, producing a gasp from the teen. Gokudera looked up to him, breathing hard,

"I L-Lov... I... God damn it" he put the back of his hand over his eyes in embarrassment,

"Love.." His voice quivers, but a soft laugh floated over him, making him remove his hand and look up.

"It's okay, I know. I know by your actions that you love me." He purred and gave an un-characteristic smirk as he slipped a hand under the boy's shirt, making him jump in surprise.

The door suddenly opened and Tsuyoshi came through,

"Good morning boys! How are you feeling Gokudera-kun?" He paused in the doorway with a peculiar look,

"What are you guys doing?"

The image before him depicted his son sitting on top of a male friend with his hand Inside his shirt. They were both frozen in shock and fear, but Yamamoto thought on his feet,

"Uh, I-I'm checking his temperature! Yep, he still has a fever." He pulled his hand out of the shirt and gave a nervous laugh.

Tsuyoshi gave a quizzical look, but after looking at Gokudera's bright, red face he figured it was true and shrugged it off,

"Okay, well you can stay here another night if you still don't feel well." Gokudera blinked then stammered out,

"A-Ah, thank you very much." Tsuyoshi smiled to them as he left the room.

There was a long silence and continual eye contact with the door as if they suspected him to walk into the room again.

Yamamoto broke the silence with roaring laughter, he rolled off of Gokudera and laid next to him giggling. Gokudera sighed as he rolled over on his side to face his lover, the contagious laughter was affecting him,

"Ha, that was terrifying." he laughed lightly as he gazed into the beautiful eyes he loves so much. Yamamoto quieted his own laughter as he gazed back,

"Yeah, your face was amazing though. You where so shocked and red." He cooed at him, but Gokudera rose and threw a pillow at his face,

"Not funny!" Yamamoto grabbed his hand and pulled him into an embrace, "

Ma~ Ma~ Don't be mad, I was just teasing." Gokudera pouted silently

"Well the old man said you can spend the night again so I'll make you forgive me and this time you're not going to fall asleep on me." He nipped his ear lovingly. Gokudera's voice was caught in his throat as he turned red for one of the many times that night.

THE END