Hey guys:D I'm finally back! I'm soooo sorry that I couldn't meet my deadlines cos I was reallyyy busy these past few weeks:( I hope I can finish my next chapter for What I would do for you and my D18 one-shot soon! Onto this story…

Note: HAPPY (Belated) BIRTHDAY HAYATO BUNNY:D I hope you like this story:D

Disclaimer: I don't own KHR, if I did, it probably won't be as awesome as it is now:P

A light and cheery show tune rang out from another room. Hayato let out another grimace. It was Takeshi's irritating ringtone once again. 'He really needs to change that song. It's annoying the hell out of me. If he doesn't change it soon, I will…' Hayato heard his boyfriend and flat mate answer the call on his hand phone with his usual cheery voice. Rolling his eyes, Hayato just looked down and went back to reading the papers that Juudaime had given him.

All of a sudden, Hayato heard a clatter, closely followed by a loud thump. Slightly worried about what had happened, he ran out of the room in a quick jog. What was right in front of his eyes shocked him into freezing, one hand still gripping the door frame tightly.

Takeshi was on all fours, with his head pressed tightly against the ground. Gasps shook his entire body, his shoulders tensing with each intake of breath. His small blue hand phone was still lying open beside him. Round water marks were slowly forming on the carpet Takeshi was on, the small dark spots increasing in number by the second. Hayato's eyes widened as he realised where the wet marks were coming from. Frantically running over, he knelt down in front of the taller man and put both his palms onto Takeshi's face, pulling his head up so Takeshi would face him, at the same time trying to wipe off the endless tears that were escaping from his eyes. But however how he tried, Takeshi wouldn't – couldn't – face him.

"Takeshi… Takeshi, what happened? Come on, talk to me, dammit!" Pulling his other half up into a kneeling position, Hayato grabbed hold of Takeshi's shoulders and shook his lifeless body hard. Still evoking no response from the Rain, Hayato did something he had never done before. He gave Takeshi a hug. He thought that that very action would be so out of character that it would shock Takeshi out of his slump, but no effect was caused. More panicked now, Hayato shuffled even closer, his knee brushing against Takeshi's phone.

Picking it up, he heard a tinny voice being emitted from the speaker on the phone. Putting it to his ear, Hayato heard Juudaime's frantic voice resounding in his ear, calling Takeshi's name over and over again. For the first time in his entire life, Hayato interrupted Juudaime and demanded to know what was going on. After a moment's silence, Juudaime answered, and Hayato's grip tightened on the phone so much that its plastic casing cracked. 'No wonder Takeshi had been reduced to… that…'

"Yamamoto Tsuyoshi was killed by the Millefiore Famiglia yesterday afternoon…"

The funeral was just a few days later. As Hayato prepared himself for the important event, he checked all the rooms in the apartment, looking out for his boyfriend. Takeshi was nowhere to be found. 'Maybe he went earlier to prepare some things… I'll probably meet him there I guess…' As he put on the smartest looking suit in his whole wardrobe and his newest red dress shirt, he couldn't help but think back on times right after the duo had received the phone call. Takeshi would go out early and come home late, disappearing for long periods of time. He would not be at Tsuna's house, or even the Vongola Headquarters. Even if Juudaime sent out men every day, they would be unable to locate the tall swordsman. As Hayato worried on, he realised he was running late, and he rushed out of the apartment after grabbing his car keys, his reservations about Takeshi temporarily slipping off his mind.

Hayato reached the graveyard in the nick of time, right before the priest started. As he sat down on a hard plastic chair beside Juudaime, he scanned the whole arena, looking for a head with dark spiky head that would stand out because of his height. As Juudaime stepped up to say a few words about Takeshi's father, Hayato realised something with a sinking feeling.

Takeshi did not attend his own father's funeral.

As the days passed, Hayato grew more and more anxious about Takeshi's mental well-being. Takeshi had grown even colder towards him, barely saying anything to anyone, even him. He was becoming a man that Hayato no longer knew. Making up his mind, Hayato gave a call to Juudaime and explained that he wanted the day off so that he could search for the Rain. Getting the green light, Hayato set off.

He headed to all of Takeshi's favourite haunts, from the baseball stadium to the supermarket where he always bought the ingredients for their meals. Hayato even visited Takesushi, even if he knew Takeshi had not been in the restaurant since his father had died. After visiting their family's Asarigumi*, Hayato sighed as the list in his head had finally been exhausted. He sat down on a park bench tiredly as the seconds ticked by. He had been searching since morning and nine hours had already passed. The four o'clock sun was scorching and his red shirt was already drenched. Sighing once again, Hayato dragged his tired body up, setting off towards the nearby graveyard just to pay Yamamoto Tsuyoshi a visit before he went home.

As he neared the area, he noticed a tall and dark figure already standing before the newest addition to the land. Hayato's heart lurched as he realised that the man was the one who he had searched for the whole day. Quickening his pace, Hayato stopped a few steps away from the person that he had spent all his energy looking for. How Takeshi knew it was Hayato behind him, Hayato never found out, but Takeshi began to speak to him, his words piercing straight through to his heart.

"Hayato… I just don't know what to feel… What to think… I always had Oyaji with me. Now that he's… gone, I just… I… I miss him so much, Hayato. I don't know what I should do…" Breaking off, Takeshi started to tremble just a little, but that was enough to tell Hayato that he had almost lost his grip on reality. Hayato understood. He really did. He remembered how he himself had felt when he had found out his mother had passed away. He understood why Takeshi was pushing him away, but craving for human comfort on the inside. Hayato understood how it felt to have someone close to your heart being torn away from you.

Even if the time spent with his mother had passed without Hayato himself knowing that she was his mother, he had felt the impact of losing someone. For Takeshi, he had to be feeling a hundred, no, a thousand times worse. Hayato knew that his old man was the one that had taught him whatever he knew, from sushi-making, to baseball, and even to the Shigure Soen Ryu. Tsuyoshi had played a huge part in Takeshi's life, and now that he was gone, Takeshi would have an empty void deep in his chest, a void that only his Oyaji could fill. Hayato knew that the pain and grief that Takeshi felt was suffocating, and he wanted to help to ease that pain as much as he could.

Hayato went up to Takeshi and stood between the gravestone and the Rain. Grabbing hold of Takeshi's sloppily made tie, he gently pulled the taller man down to his level and kissed him. Takeshi's eyes widened a little, but he soon closed his eyes and relaxed into the kiss. After a moment, they separated, both panting slightly. Taking in a deep breath, Hayato prepared himself to say the three very words that he had never uttered before.

"Takeshi... I... I love you. I love you and I know I never said it before, but don't ever ignore me like that ever again! I know it's hard. I know you're still not used to it. I understand, Takeshi. I know how you feel. I can't take it away, but I just want you to know that I will always be here for you, no matter what. I know I don't usually say this kind of things, but let me help you. You aren't alone. You will never be because I will never leave you." As he was finishing the last few words, Hayato's face had already fine beetroot red, and he decided to look down to the ground instead of at Takeshi's face. But a gentle hand reached up and lifted Hayato's chin. He looked up to see a Takeshi with a small smile on his face.

"You've never said that before you know, Hayato? I knew you loved me, but you've never said it out that way before. But now that you did... It's enough. I know you can't replace my old man, but... it's enough... You're enough…" Smiling up at the Rain, Hayato reached up to wipe a tear away from Takeshi's face. Resting his hand there, Hayato patted his hand lightly on Takeshi's cheek.

"Well, if you say that, then don't ever shut me out again, no matter how big or small, you hear me?" Takeshi laughed at the mock angry tone that Hayato used, grabbing the smaller man into a huge hug. Burying his face into Takeshi's suit, Hayato's face glowed as the usual happy laugh rung through the air once again. Nothing could cheer Takeshi up more than Hayato himself, especially when he confessed his love for him.

*Asarigumi is the name of the dojo that the Yamamotos own. The one where Takeshi learnt the Shigure Soen Ryu from his dad:D

Well, my first fic after my hiatus. Hope it isn't too bad… And it's so late again sigh... Sorry that I missed the deadline for this one-shot too, and hope to see you guys as soon as I can! Ciao:D