L'ultimo Saluto

"Hey Kyouya, can I love you?"

That was the question that started it all…

He blinked and looked over, still worn out from their spar, "What?"

"Will you let me love you," the blond repeated himself.

"And what would you do if I say no?"

Amber eyes blinked, "that was unexpected…I don't know, it's a little late to be falling out of love," a wistful smile, "I guess I'd try to pretend nothing happened and go back to the way things were before."

His expression remained blank, "I don't know what love is."

"Then I'll teach you," was the immediate reply, "…or at least I'll try. And if I do, maybe one day, you'll feel something for me too."

The boy scoffed, "Love is only for herbivores like you. Besides, I don't care what kind of relationship it is as long as I get to bite you to death."

The blond laughed gently, "Is that your way of saying yes then? Does that mean you'll let me love you?"

A shrug, "…do what you want."

Ever since then, everything turned into a never ending cycle where every hello was their first and every goodbye their last. Yet somehow, they managed, even after ten years, they managed. Nothing made sense in their vague relationship. They were together but not, close but distant, wanted to end it but couldn't; they simply continued going through their pattern over and over again. And they were perfectly fine with having whatever it was that they had constantly on the edge of a cliff, on the verge of falling off but wouldn't.

When the word reached the ears of the Cavallone men, a wave of anxious murmurs flooded the area. Who would become the next heir? Would it end up like the Ninth Vongola's situation? What would the other families think? Should they hide it? Should they deny it? Should they stand up and fight for it?

It didn't take very long for the questions to reach the blonde's ears. The day before their flight back to Italy, in his temporary office, Dino set down the papers he'd been pretending to read and looked up at Romario, "hey Romario, is it true?"

The man gave a start at the don's sudden question, "Is what true, boss?"

Serious amber eyes studied the other carefully, "That the men are worried for the Cavallone family's future."

Romario swallowed the little lump of hesitation in his throat, "…yes, but we in the end, we'd rather that you be happy, boss. Besides, you're still young, you don't really have to start thinking about this for a good amount of time and I don't think I'm ready to deal with another crying Cavallone boy yet."

The Italian chuckled lightly at the mention of his youth, "that was a long time ago, Romario."

The older man smiled at the change in topic, "Yes, but how could I forget that little boy who came crying to me almost daily about not wanting to be part of the mafia and wanting the mean kids at school to leave him alone?"

Resting his head on his hand, he looked up nostalgically, "Ah, but those kids were really mean back then…"

Despite the lighthearted mood the conversation ended in, he spent the rest of the day thinking about the problem.

Later that day, he made up his mind and went to see the boy he'd confessed to merely days ago, "Kyouya, I'm flying back tomorrow."

Indifferent gray eyes watched him, "I know. What does that have to do with anything? I thought you were here to fight, not to mingle."

He pursed his lips wondering whether or not he'd be able to do it. Slowly, he opened his mouth and let the words he'd thought of a little earlier spew out mechanically, "Yes, but the thing is, I'm afraid I have to end this. This will never work out. After today, I'll be flying back to Italy and it's expected of me to meet women and eventually marry one. I don't want this to become a mess so this will be the last time I see you. So after this, it'll be our last goodbye, alright? It wasn't a lie though, what I told you before, but I don't really have a choice, I'm sorry Kyouya."

That was the decision he'd made and had to stick by. Because as much as he did love the boy, his family would always be his first priority…and it was for that single reason that he had to make a clean break.

But always one to foil his plans, Hibari merely tilted his head curiously and asked, "End what? Does that mean you aren't going to fight me?"

He mentally slapped himself.

Of course the boy hadn't understood. He hadn't understand a thing about love before, so how was he expected to understand that when a person accepted a confession it usually led to the two being together. Inwardly, he thought it all out; by leaving everything as it was and departing, he'd be able to make a clean break, but having seen the boy's expression, he knew it was too late to even consider that option.

Amber eyes stared at the brunet's questioning expression, impassive yet inquisitive with childlike innocence. His resolve crumbled and he quickly pulled the boy into a hug, "What was I thinking!? I'm sorry Kyouya! I didn't mean it! That farewell didn't count! I love you! Ah, you're so cute…"

Annoyed, Hibari tried to pry the other off of him with his tonfas, still unsure of what'd just happened, "stop crowding me or I'll bite you to death, you stupid herbivore. Get.Off."

Dino shook his head, "no-ow, ow, ow, stop hitting me, Kyouya! This is called hugging people," when he received a blank stare as a reply, he gaped, "a hug! You know, un abbraccio, an embrace? It's an act of social acceptance, a form of physical familiarity! People hug others when they're happy, sad, and even when they have no reason to!"

The brunet's brows furled, "Why are you doing this?"

Happy that the other finally stopped attacking him, he grinned and tightened his hold on the brunet, "Because I love you and I want to show it through a physical display of affection, and because you're unbelievably adorable. Kyouya, if you ever need a hug, feel free to try it on me, alright? From now on, I'm going to teach you everything you'll ever need to know about love!"

That was the start of the mess that neither of them would be able to clean up.

But true to his word, he tried to teach the boy everything he knew. With all the patience and determination that only Dino Cavallone possessed, he tried. And to some extent, in his own way, he considered it a success, because over the decade, with his unwavering efforts, he managed to mellow out Hibari Kyouya…at least to the point where they'd be able to meet and converse for awhile instead of going straight into a spar as they'd done for the first few years.

Gray eyes opened tiredly and sat up and looked over at the sleeping blond next to him. Though it was true that he'd learnt a lot throughout ten years, he deemed most of the 'skills' unnecessary. He'd learnt not to attack people when they hugged him though only Dino really ever hugged him, he learnt to tolerate kisses though again, only the Cavallone ever did that, he even learnt how to fake polite smiles which became a rather useful tool during negotiations and projects involving the need to socialize with strangers. Hibari pursed his lips as he continued thinking about all the useless things the other taught him.

The blond stirred and glanced over at the other man who was sitting there, deep in thought and frowning. "Kyouya," the other turned only to have fingers pushing his lips upwards, "I told you, a smile looks like this."

Annoyed, he swatted the other's hands away, "if you're awake, let's fight, I feel like biting you to death right now."

Dino let out a yawn and smiled lazily, "After breakfast, alright? It can't be healthy, fighting on an empty stomach."

"…fine," he got up and headed over to the bathroom but not before the older man drew him into a hug. His brows furled, "what now? Are you happy or sad?"

Ever since that first lesson, he'd learnt to read the other's expression to determine what kind of hug he was receiving, but when hugged from behind, he had no choice but to ask. Used to such questions, Dino buried his face into the back of his neck and sighed, "Sad of course, I have to leave later."

"Oh," was his only reply. Even though he'd learnt to read expressions and tolerate gestures, the one thing he still didn't understand was the concept of love, that strangely stupid emotion that the blond had no control over, the one that appeared to be so strong that it made even the strongest herbivores waver.

He didn't understand it at all.

"You're such an herbivore."

A soft laugh, "I know."

When 'later' came around, and it was time for the Cavallone to leave. He leaned in, careful to avoid further worsening the wound on his cheek, and gave the other a light kiss, "Kyouya, I have to go…again," a sigh, "I don't want to though…"

As Hibari stood there accepting the other's kisses, he idly wondered how long it'd take for the other's resolve to dissolve into nothing and send him running back again yelling something along the lines of "that last farewell didn't count! Kyouya, I missed you too much! It didn't count!"

Their longest 'break up' so far had lasted half a year simply because the Cavallone had been swamped with work and absolutely had no time to fly or call, but that attempt ended like all the others.

After the blond finished complaining about how much he wanted to stay, he placed another kiss on the other's forehead and sighed, "I guess this is goodbye again."

He smirked, "the last one this time?"

Dino laughed softly, "Maybe, who knows? Just incase it is, I guess I should do this," he placed a final kiss on the younger man's lips.

For all this kisses the Cavallone smothered him with, Hibari had never given one of his own.

The blond waved as he made his way out, "ciao Kyouya."

That'd been their 77th final farewell.

Months had gone by since their last farewell, and Hibari was staring at the mirror after having brushed his teeth while rain came pouring down outside. Idly, he poked his own cheek lightly, unwillingly remembering the blond.

"Kyouya, why don't you ever smile? I've only ever seen you smirking and that's usually before or after you beat someone up."

Hibari raised a brow, "Why should I? Smiling is for herbivores."

The Italian frowned, "But you're almost 20 now! You have to learn how to smile, it'll help your future negotiations, you know. You can almost think of smiling as a skill, something that'll make you stronger in the future."

He shot the older man a skeptical look, "there's no blood involved."

Laughing, the blond shook his head, "being strong isn't always about strength and spilling blood…here, let's try to get you to smile…now what would make you smile? Imagine biting Mukuro to death." All he got in return was a skeptical look. "Don't look at me like that! Just try it! Here, let's stand in front of a mirror so you can see what you look like, it'll be easier to remember that way. Here, think about how you'd like to bite Mukuro to death."

Despite how stupid it sounded to him, he did as he was told and imagined tearing the other apart with his tonfas and his lips curled upwards into a smirk.

Dino rubbed the back of his neck and smiled nervously, "no, that's a smirk. I should've known something like this would happen. Here, how about watching me? I smile all the time, right? What if you try to imitate me?"

He huffed and turned away, "No, I don't want to look like an idiot."

"Hey! I don't look like an idiot when I smile!" When he didn't receive a reply, he pouted slightly, "…well that's not the point anyways! Let's just get you to smile politely then, it's a business thing! First thing first though, let's get your lips curving upwards," he used his fingers to push the edge of the boy's lips up and let out an amused laugh, "there you go! This is a good start, don't you think?"

Hibari glared at the Italian through the mirror. He looked ridiculous. Pulling out his tonfas, he turned around with a smirk, "I didn't know you were so eager to get bitten to death by me, I'll even grant you the privilege of having me smirking over your dead body be the last thing you see in this world…"

"W-what? Wait, Kyouya! I'm sorry, I didn't mean it! Kyouya!"

Outside, lightning flashed, snapping out of his reverie, he shook his head a few times and headed back out for bed. But before he could do so, there was a knock on the door. Without the usual announcement that Kusakabe gave, he raised a brow and wondered who'd dare trespass without seeking the permission of his right-hand man first. Flinging open the door, his eyes widened as a blur of green and gold came hurdling towards him, "It didn't count! That last farewell didn't count! Kyouya, I missed you so much!"

Of course, only an idiotic horse would come pouncing on him at midnight. Gray eyes scanned the hall, "you came alone?"

The blond followed his gaze and shrugged, "Romario probably went to get a drink with Kusakabe."

Accepting the reason, he closed the door behind the taller man and yawned, "I was about to go to bed before you so rudely interrupted me. I should bite you to death for this, I've killed others for less."

Dino laughed and took off his jacket, "you won't have to, I'll be out of your hair by morning, I promise. See, I have to fly again tomorrow for business, but since there weren't any direct flights, I figured I might as well pay you a visit first. Sorry," a light kiss, "there won't even be enough time for an early morning spar. Hey Kyouya, how about giving me a welcoming kiss?"

"No," ignoring the other's pout, he glanced over at the jacket which was riddled with holes and the way the blond seemed to be favoring one leg over the other, "your jacket…and your leg."

The blond shook his head, disappointment already forgotten, "are you worried, Kyouya? I got into another brawl with this other family, that's all. I had to use my jacket as a decoy to avoid getting shot. It's not that big of a deal, I'll have Romario order me a new jacket tomorrow and I'll get my leg fixed up in no time. These are the wounds of a carnivore, you know," he joked lamely.

Hibari scoffed, "did you bite them all to death?"

Sprawling himself out unceremoniously on the floor and pulling the brunet down on top of him, he smiled, "Of course I did, every last one of them, I'm Don Cavallone after all. But never mind that, so how've you been, Kyouya?"

And that was their 78th first greeting.

As he lay in the blonde's loose embrace, he looked over and thought about all of their first and last hellos and goodbyes, and the deal the blond had made to him years ago before drifting off.

"You know, to be fair, for all the times I've come running back telling you that 'that last farewell didn't count', you can do the same. If you ever tell me that it doesn't count, I'll come running back to you in a moment's notice."

"So I get 26 'doesn't count's?"

The other shot him a surprised look before laughing, "You've been keeping track too?"

That night, he could've sworn someone placed a kiss that he didn't feel on his lips and whispered "ciao Kyouya, ti amo" in his ear.

His eyes snapped opened. It was morning and all evidence of the blonde's presence had vanished. His brows furled, how'd the blond manage to get up and sneak out without waking him up? After all, he was known for just how lightly he slept.

That had been their 78th goodbye, and he didn't even know it.

The next day, news of Dino Cavallone's situation reached his ears. Eyes wide, he turned to Kusakabe with a slight frown on his face, demanding to know "what do you mean the stupid horse died? When was this?"

"K-Kyou-san, I'm so sorry, I came to tell you as soon as I heard!" Clumsily shuffling with the papers in his hands, he hesitated before starting in a soft voice, "Dino-san isn't dead, here's the full report: it appears that he fell under attack around 2:30 in the afternoon yesterday. The assassination was in the form of a shoot out, and Dino-san injured his left leg while saving a civilian child from getting caught in the cross fire. It ended before 4. Dino-san was shot a total of 14 times and was rushed to the hospital where they managed to save his life after undergoing hours of surgery but he's currently in a coma."

He could feel his throat go dry, "he's in a coma? And the casualties?"

"The other family that instigated the attack was completely annihilated, and there were 48 casualties from the Cavallone family."

In his mind, he was trying to make sense of how the blond had chronologically been able to visit him, "4 in the afternoon…what time would it have been here?"

Kusakabe blinked, "Kyou-san? …it would've been midnight I believe."

The brunet's mind momentarily blanked before he regained his composure, "I see…you're dismissed."

Some things were never meant to be.

Their relation was one of those things.

The two of them had always known that, just like how they'd known that the blond would be the one to end their relationship for good. Hibari had accepted the facts already, the fact that it would never work out in the end, the fact that one day the blond simply wouldn't return, the fact that he'd probably get married to someone amazingly beautiful, the fact that he'd still send him an invitation though would be thoughtful enough to not expect him to show up, the fact that the blond would lead an entirely different life after everything ended.

He was prepared for all of that and more.

After all, his only reason for being in the relationship was so he could bite the Cavallone to death. He'd always been convinced that when everything ended, he'd simply go back to the way he once was, nothing more, nothing less.

What he wasn't prepared for was this.

It was raining when he arrived at Italy.

"Kyouya! You made it! Benvenuto in Italia!"

He looked around the busy airport for a moment, but without the usual welcoming committee to greet him, he made his own way toward the hospital. It'd been weeks since the attack and there'd been no progress with the Cavallone; they were going to take him off life-support. On the way, they passed by a cemetery and inside stood a large stone memorial covered in flowers. In his mind, he could see it being the blonde's,

Here Lies Dino Cavallone,

Beloved friend and leader.

May he rest in peace.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he turned away and focused his attention elsewhere until he arrived.

"Why are we here?"

"I'll teach you something different today. One day, you'll be standing in front of the tombstone of someone you once knew like I am now. These are my parents' graves…you know, it's important to thank the people that have helped you. Not only that, but after you get over the sadness and anger, it's important to remember all the good memories that you shared with them, you know?"

"What a waste of time. The dead are dead, it's not like they can come back to life…"

"That's true, but it's nice to remember once in awhile, isn't it? Even if it's only to remember where you're from and how you came to be…" a wistful smile, "I used to be so angry at them for giving birth to me, for making me inherit the title of 'Don Cavallone'…but looking back now, I can't say it was entirely a bad thing."

"Why?"

"Well for one thing, I was able to meet Kyouya, wasn't I?"

Once inside the hospital and in front of the Cavallone's room, Romario stepped out to let him in, a grave expression on his face, "Kyouya…thank you for coming, take as long as you need."

Nodding, he made his way into the painfully white room and towards the figure in the bed. There was machinery everywhere, feeding the blond, keeping him alive. It angered him to see the other so helpless.

It was all wrong.

The blond should've sat up to greet him with that stupidly bright smile of his the second he walked through the door, should've been moved to tears because he actually showed up, should've been loud and energetic as he'd always been, he should've been awake, should've been more alive…he should've been everything except what he was now.

As he stared at the unmoving figure, he could feel his nose tingle, his chest tighten, and throat ache. Within moments, he found himself choking on his own breath, but no tears came out.

He didn't understand.

Never having felt anything remotely close to this, he silently wondered if he'd caught something from being in a hospital. "…what is this? My chest hurts, my throat's sore…I can't speak properly…" he stared at the blond as though expecting a reply, "hey, I don't understand so hurry up and teach me…wake up already…"

For all his lessons on smiling and affectionate gestures, not once had Dino taught him how to cry.

Unsure of what to do with the unexpectedly strong emotions he was feeling, he shook his head stubbornly to himself, "…if this is what you call love then I don't want to feel it."

No, he'd rather feel the placid contentment that arose whenever the blond was around, awake and smiling.

"Hey Kyouya, are you in love with me yet?"

"How can you tell?"

"Are you happy around me?"

"How can you tell?"

"Um…do you feel like smiling?"

"No."

"Do you feel like hugging me?"

"No."

"Do you feel like kissing me?"

"No."

An exasperated sigh, "Well, other than biting me to death, what do you feel like right now?"

"Other than biting you to death…?"

"Yea, other than that since my arm's kind of in a cast right now."

"Sleeping."

"Sleeping?"

A nod, "I feel like sleeping." He never let the blond catch on just how much he enjoyed sleeping while smothered by the other's warmth.

"Sleeping? As in sleeping…with me?"

Pause.

"I'm going to bite you to death."

"Ow-ow-ow, I'm sorry! I was joking! Watch the arm, Kyouya! I don't need another fracture! Ow! Don't go breaking my other arm!"

Mentally, he cursed himself for ever allowing the blond to teach him such useless things, for giving him gifts, for giving him hugs and kisses, for smiling at him, for loving him in the first place. If he'd never met the blond, he would've never been exposed to the turmoil of emotions he was facing now.

He hated how the blond had taught him how to feel and yet left him hurting alone.

"You know, the day you tell me 'it doesn't count' will be the day I give up, I'll stop trying to end this, stop trying to find someone else to love and I'll come running back to your side."

"Like a dog?"

A laugh, "yea, like a dog."

Hibari clenched his fists at how his mind insisted on playing cruel flashbacks, insisted on reminding him of better times. He willed his legs to stay sturdy and not buckle under his weight and weakness. Despite knowing how fruitless the outcome would be, he muttered to the unconscious figure in front of him, "…you know I won't accept this, you stupid herbivore. That farewell didn't count, so hurry up and wake up, come running back already so I can bite you to death…don't make me say it 78 times…it didn't count…I hate you…why couldn't you just be like all the other herbivores…"

Too caught up in cursing the Cavallone for everything he'd ever done right, he wasn't sure how long he stood beside the other. Finally, with the sky darkening, he regained his composure and let out quietly, "…you…that question you asked me back then…"

"Hey Kyouya, can I love you?"

By then, he was too drained of energy to continue being angry or miserable, all he wanted was to curl up somewhere warm and sleep. Tone as hollow as he felt, he merely stared at the rock in front of him, "You asked if you could love me…"

That was the question that started it all…

"…and I should've said no."

Despite himself, he stayed another hour before he finally couldn't stand it anymore.

"Hey Kyouya, how about giving me a welcoming kiss? No? What about an early goodbye kiss? No? Why not!? …why? What do you mean why? I really want a kiss from Kyouya, that's all. A kiss from Kyouya would make me happy for the rest of my life, really!"

Instead of leaving flowers as all the other visitors had done, he leaned over and placed a kiss on cold, unmoving lips, "…goodbye Dino Cavallone."

Their 79th and final farewell before parting ways forever…

As he reached the door, he thought he heard a soft "…r'un'cio…" over the noise of the machines.

Eyes widening, he whirled around, "what?"

Across the room, he could see the other's lips moving slightly, "…r'nu'cio…d'ce'ti 'n c'nta …"

Before he could say anything else, a team of medics and Romario rushed into the room having been alerted of the changes. The doctor began asking him questions in Italian. He stared blankly at the man. "He's asking you if boss was awake just now," Romario translated for him.

Mutely, he nodded. The doctor shouted something excitedly, and he just stood there and remained silent as Romario pulled him into a hug, spewing words of joy that he didn't understand.

But inside, he felt a little warmer.

A week later, Dino was finally able to stay awake for most of the day and Hibari half sitting in a chair and half sprawled on the bed, basking in the other's warmth, "how much longer until you're discharged?"

The blond looked over and laughed, "I know you're bored but it won't be for awhile, sorry Kyouya. You have to fly back to Japan soon, don't you?"

A nod, "I was hoping to bite you to death before then."

The blond ran his less injured arm through the brunet's hair, "I'll come find you the second I get better, alright, we can spar then. You know, I still can't believe I heard you, I couldn't wake up but I heard you. I was so happy hearing you say those words and kis-ow! Kyouya, don't poke my broken ri-ow! I'm in the hospital for a reason!"

Hibari snorted, "Yea, for being an herbivore." His phone rang, blinking, he picked up, "yea…alright."

"Do you have to leave now?"

He nodded and sat up.

"Wait, lean over," he did as he was told and allowed the Cavallone to place a kiss on his head, "ciao Kyouya."

The brunet smirked, "the last one this time?"

Dino shook his head with a smile on his face, "No, no more last goodbyes. I'll definitely come running back to you once I get out of here."

"Like a dog?"

A laugh, "yea, like a dog."

Nya~

I'm sorry my oneshots are always this long! Believe it or not, I actually ended up writing about 3 different versions of this fic before suddenly deciding that I wanted to keep Dino alive, so hopefully that was a nice little turn of events for you. Isn't it rare? Me writing happy endings :P Other than that, happy birthday to my dog who turned 11 yesterday! Apparently there's been a case of a person getting shot 18 times and surviving, I guess it really does depend on where you get shot, and back during the First World War era, people could've been shot up to 30 times due to the crappy weapons they had back then. Anyways, reviews are appreciated! Enjoy!

Dino was saying 'rinuncio, dicesti non conta.' Basically, 'I give up, you said doesn't count', it's poorly phrased but he just woke up from a coma so I assumed his speech wouldn't be perfect. And unlike in movies, people who were in a coma need to gradually adjust to staying awake and stuff, it's just how real life works I suppose.

Fun fact 1: There's a difference in interpretation when Hibari and Dino say 'like a dog', while Dino thinks of it as running back excitedly, Hibari's actually thinking about a dog.

Fun fact 2: After celebrating their boss's awakening, the Cavallone men were at a lost for what to do with the casket they'd already bought, especially since the place they bought it from had a sign that clearly said 'No Refunds'.