Disclaimer: I don't own KHR!

A/N: I wrote this while listening to Napkin Holder's Daft Punk Piano Medley, so I would highly suggest looking it up on Youtube to listen while you read. Total eargasm~!
Also, I'm afraid that I made them OOC...

Gokudera Hayato can't remember the last time he touched a piano. It must have been when he was a mere eight year old boy, still retaining a childlike innnocence. He felt like he had no reason to play after overhearing what had happened to his piano teacher, no his mother—though getting caustically ill multiple times thanks to Bianchi just to sate an old man's need for entertainment played a major role as well. Hayato simply had no reason to go back playing now that he focused all his time and attention into becoming more powerful and worthy to be his Juudaime-hime's right hand.

All thoughts of playing the piano had slipped his mind until the Baseball Freak casually mentioned that the music department was getting a new piano and trashing their old one. The thought of the poor instrument rotting away in the trash wreaked more havoc on Hayato's conscious than it should have and after school he found himself trying to save it from its impending doom and dragging it down several blocks to his apartment with the help of Tsuna, Yamamoto, Ryohei, and at one point, adult-Lambo. Though after arriving at the obstacle that was seven flights of stairs and a much too small elevator, Hayato grudgingly gave up his monthly food wages to hire a mover.

When all the trouble was over—and that really was a lot of trouble for a measly studio piano—the instrument was settled in the middle of Hayato's apartment, looking as if it had always been there. Yamamoto and Ryohei left, taking Lambo with them while Tsuna lingers behind uncertainly. Hayato watches her as she sits down on the piano bench slowly, lifts the lid and then hesitantly runs her fingers over the glossy keys. "It's a nice piano," she says softly, fingers stilling over the black keys. Looking at him, she beckons him over to sit with her. "If you don't mind, would you play? For me?" Tsuna asks shyly as Hayato hesitantly sits down on the bench next to her.

He stares down at the keys, pausing for a second. He really doesn't want to play, but it's the hopeful look on Juudaime-hime's face that does it. Slowly, he brings his fingers to the keys, tentatively pressing out slow scales. The sounds emitting from the piano are soft and awkward and Tsuna watches as the notes grow louder and bolder as he recalls broken melodies. Hayato makes plenty of mistakes and his fingers don't move the way they used to. He finds himself too stiff and his music lacks a smooth flow and after the umpteenth mistake, he wants to smash his fist down onto the keys in an act of frustration.

It's Tsuna's voice that stops him from rashly abusing the worn piano anymore. "It's beautiful," she murmurs, eyes closed in relaxed bliss. Hayato stares at her with surprise, wondering how on earth they had heard different things. She opens her eyes slowly and looks at him. "I really love the way you play, but..."

Tsuna trails off uncertainly, hesitant about finishing that sentence. "Juudaime-hime, you can tell me anything," Hayato insists, wanting to know what she was about to say.

She shakes her head, deciding that she'll wait for a better time to tell him. "It's fine, Gokudera-kun. I just love the way the piano."

It's the way she says it. It tugs on his heart strings and with sincere conviction, he tells her, "Then I will play for you every day."

Tsuna blushes at that remark and begins to pull away from him. "Gokudera-kun, you don't have to. I know that you don't really..." She stops suddenly and claps a hand over her mouth to physically stop herself from saying too much. Hayato falls silent at the realization that she knows about his past. "I'm sorry," she tells him quickly and leaves his apartment without another word.

Hayato sits at the piano, silent and head hung low. He hasn't touched a piano since he was eight, yet when he played for Tsuna, he felt a familiar emotion well up in the pit of his stomach. He plays, fastidiously paying attention to each note, sharp, flat or natural, and thinks of Tsuna and his mother, until his fingers move the way he wants them to and he can hit the correct notes flawlessly. Despite all this, something is off and to him, the music sounds all wrong. It lacks that clean, vibrant sound he used to play with and even when he plays until his fingers are painfully aching, he just can't seem to get rid of that robotic stiffness.

He also notes to himself that the piano needs to get tuned.

The next day, Hayato doesn't eat lunch with Tsuna and Yamamoto. He skips his lunch to check out the new piano that replaced the 'stolen' studio piano sitting in his apartment and is actually quite impressed by the new grand piano. It's a shiny jet black and the ivory keys are an immaculate white. Hayato sits down at the bench after assuring himself that he's alone and begins to play. The notes echo in the large music room and Hayato oddly feels at peace when he plays. His fingers stumble over themselves occasionally, but he's determined not to let it stop him as he strikes each note with a renewed confidence. There's a soft knock at the door before it's pushed open and Hayato ignores it, thinking it's a teacher coming to yell at him. His fingers cease playing immediately when he hears his Juudaime-hime's voice.

"Gokudera-kun? You weren't at lunch today... I was worried," she tells him, blushing as she pulls up a chair to sit down next to him. "Please, don't let me stop you. It's beautiful."

"But?" Hayato asks, referring to the previous night when she trailed off, leaving her sentences unfinished.

"But it's so sad," Tsuna finishes. "You play beautifully, but it makes me feel so sad. Is it because you're sad, Gokudera-kun?" His eyes widen at her innocent question and he asks himself if he really is sad. It would explain so much. She smiles at him warmly, trying to cheer him up. "Gokudera-kun," she starts as she hesitantly brings her arms around him.

He doesn't let her finish. With her arms still around him, Hayato awkwardly brings his hands back up to the piano to play lilting melodies that make Tsuna want to cry. When he's finished, he untangles himself from her embrace to hold both of her hands in his own. "I will play for you every day, Juudaime-hime," he tells her again with the same determined conviction.

She is about to turn him down again, but when she sees his broken soul through his eyes, she nods with a soft smile, averting her gaze. "I'd like that."

It becomes ritual. He plays the piano for her every day, either during lunch, after school or late night in his apartment. Every day, she makes the same honest comment that his melodies are beautiful but so hauntingly melancholy. And every day, he breaks a little bit inside, knowing that he's making her sad.

"What can I do to make it happy?" he asks her one day.

Tsuna pauses, seriously thinking about this before answering: "I think it would help if you were happy."

"I am happy, Juudaime-hime," Hayato insists, retreating back to the piano to play once more.

She stops him, pulling his hands into her own. "Will you tell me about her?"

His eyes widen when he realizes that she's asking about his mother. "You already know about it."

"Yes, but I want to hear it from you," she answers with sincerity. His head hangs low he becomes tense. Tsuna realizes that he doesn't want to talk about her so she gets up from the piano bench and gently touches his shoulder to remind him she's still here. "Hayato, it doesn't have to be today. It doesn't have to be ever if you want." She smiles sweetly and then leaves him alone in his apartment.

It's three months later, and he's still playing for her every day. His fingers are compliant with his every wish and he hits all the notes perfectly. His melodies have finally lost all their sadness, but they are languid, stiff and robotic. There's no passion. Hayato's inured himself to his childhood pains and his fingers stop on the piano, leaving the song unfinished. The notes ring lightly in his apartment when he says, "Her name was Lavina."

"It's a very pretty name," Tsuna answers as she moves to sit next to him on the piano bench.

"She was beautiful," Hayato tells her, closing his eyes as he tries to recall what she looks like. The image is ingrained into his memory and he'll never forget her. "She loved the piano. And she had the most beautiful smile." His voice catches in his throat and he looks away from Tsuna to hide his weakness.

In response, Tsuna gently cups his cheek and nudges him gently so his head is on her shoulder. "Oh, Hayato," she murmurs softly as he cries on her shoulder. He's broken and playing the piano seems to have ripped open so many past scars. He grips Tsuna tightly to him as if she'll leave him as well and he can't bear to be abandoned again.

"She told me to keep playing the piano," Hayato recalls. "She said that my hands were fit for a pianist." His forehead is pressed against her shoulder as he hugs her tightly. "I used to play for her. She really had a beautiful smile, and I'd used to play just so I could see it."

"So why do you play now?" Tsuna asks shyly as she reaches up to comb her fingers through his hair.

Hayato's breath hitches as he tries to think of why he plays. "I play because..."

"I play for somebody I love," Lavina's voice echoes in his memory when he had asked her the very same question many years ago.

"I play because..." he trails off again, unable to finish the statement. He loves Tsuna, yes, he adores her, but he isn't ready to tell her that. No, not yet. He keeps quiet.

Tsuna tilts his chin so she can look him in the eyes. She kisses his tears away, lips pressing gently against each trembling eyelid, before softly touching his cheek. She cups his cheek with her warm hands and looks him in the eyes once more. Hayato makes no notion to stop her so she kisses him.

"You should leave," Hayato tells her when they break away.

She looks at him, wide-eyed and confused. "Hayato?" she whispers, breaking inside.

"Please," he begs, pulling away from her.

"Don't do this," Tsuna pleads, trying to embrace him again, but he refuses her again. Giving in, Tsuna gathers her belongings and leaves, pausing at the door for a mere moment. "I think... I think if you knew your reason to play, then it wouldn't be so sad anymore. So tell me, when you find it."

Hayato sits at his piano, alone and in pain. He's hurt his beloved Juudaime-hime and he wonders just what is it that she sees in him. He wonders how is it that she can hear beautiful melodies when all he hears is stiff, broken tunes. She's far too optimistic for him.

He stops playing for her every day, just until he can find his resolve. He becomes distant, but she understands. She spends time with her other guardians, but he catches her glancing at him in class, making sure he's okay and showing that she still cares. It's enough for him.

It's a month later, when it's storming outside. School is over and as he's leaving, Hayato catches sight of her in the courtyard from the second-floor window. She's in the middle of the rainstorm, fighting against the teeming winds as she struggles to keep her umbrella from inverting. Hayato watches her for a few moments, seeing the wind tousle her hair and the rain drip down her raincoat, when it clicks.

And then he takes off into a sprint, a dash towards her. He runs down the hallways, down the stairs, until he's at the front of the school. Tsuna stops struggling with her umbrella for a moment and regards him with a look of confusion and hope in her eyes. Hayato pulls the soaked Tsuna to him and kisses her right there in the middle of a typhoon. "Ask me," he tells her as he cups her cheek.

"Why do you play the piano?" Tsuna asks, resisting a grin, as she grips great handfuls of his coat tightly.

"I play for somebody I love," Hayato tells her with a genuinely happy smile. "I love you, Tsuna, and I play so that I can see you smile."

They walk in the rain, back to his apartment. He holds her close at his side, as if he's trying to protect her from the brutal winds. He drapes a warm blanket over her when they come home, and leads her to the piano, beckoning for her to sit down with him.

"I love you and I love the way you play the piano," Tsuna grins at him, mirroring that day he rescued the abandoned piano from the dumpster.

"Then I will play it for you every day," Hayato answers with a sincere smile and determined conviction.

"Play for me," she tells him with a gentle command as she presses her lips against his, arms embracing him warmly.

And he plays for her, his muse. He executes each movement flawlessly, striking each note with a renewed vigor. He makes no mistakes as he plays. His eyes are closed as he channels all his happiness through the instrument. His notes echo with life, breaking away from its previous dead stiffness into a glorious medley, he quintessence of perfection.

Tsuna thinks it's the most wonderful thing she's ever heard and when she smiles for him, Hayato thinks it's the most beautiful thing he's ever seen.