Chapter Text
Dino has a passion for driving sports cars and recently he's started to join friendly competitions against racers from other families.
It's all fun and games, if you ask him. Actually, he swears he's never been so entertained before.
While he lost the first tournament he took part in, this round he's part of the best three, who will have their showdown next week. He is so enthusiastic about it that he's been singing and whistling and swinging around his entire mansion for days. Remember Snow White in the woods? If it hadn't been autumn probably there would be a choir of birds to chirp along Dino.
"... Kyoya, I know there's gonna be hundreds of people, but I'd love you to come and see me," Dino whines like a baby after Hibari refused his invitation to the race for the fourth time. "It's the finals!"
It's not that Hibari doesn't support his husband in his hobbies, but the mere thought of sitting in a crowd gives him brain damage.
Dino has been trying his best to convince the Guardian. "I'll make sure you have a seat with a good view away from people!"
A twitch on Kyoya's thin lips suggests that he's reconsidering his answer — or maybe Dino is just this hopeful.
Dino looks like a puppy staring at a steak too far from its reach. "You've never come to a race so far… pretty please, just this one!"
Hibari can't really resist against that pout and heaves out a sigh, which ends in a loving sneer. "Fine, I'll come."
And now Dino isn't much different from a kid who just unwrapped his Christmas present to find out it's the radio-controlled car he had asked for all year long and starts running around the house playing with it. He is in pure delight.
"You make me the happiest man on earth!" He yells, then he breathes "Ti amo" on Hibari's mouth, and kisses him.
The final race comes soon, but as you would expect from a typical November day in Italy, it's cold and rainy.
Dino has kept the promise of the reservation place for his husband, and from the privileged spot Hibari is sitting at, he can see the starting portion of the track without the help of binoculars. Romario, who has always followed Dino to his races unlike Hibari, takes a seat a couple meters away.
Dino shows off his uniform of the color of his flame, holding his helmet in one arm and swinging around. His blond hair, the warm colors of his suit and his radiant beam make him look like the real sun in this gloomy weather.
"So? How do I look?"
"You look great," Hibari replies, stoic but sincere. His raven coat makes the perfect contrast against Dino's flashy clothes.
The Bucking Horse's smile grows even wider. "Just wait for when I slay this race!"
Hibari flashes him a timid smile, unable to find a reason behind the apprehension that is making him ravish his own lips until scarlet spills and crumpling his stomach enough that he feels nauseous.
The pouring of the rain resounds in Hibari's ears and, when the speakers ask for the parties to get ready as it's only thirty minutes before the start of the run, he just wishes the race gets cancelled instead.
And Dino, who has long learnt to read Hibari's slightest grimaces, asks him, "Is anything wrong?"
But Hibari still doesn't know what to say, although it's pretty rare for him not to vehemently call out something he dislikes. Every excuse is a lie, especially from someone like him who never makes excuses, ever.
He chokes his anxiety in the back of his throat. "Nothing," he says, with the other option being complaining about the crowd, too noisy even from there.
He looks anywhere but in Dino's eyes and wipes dust that doesn't exist off his immaculate shiny clothes. But Dino can't be convinced that everything is alright when his husband's hand clutches his suit tightly enough that he could tear it apart, right on his heart.
He rephrases the question. "Kyoya, what bothers you?"
Hibari exhales a puff heavier than the others and his eyebrows become one. "The rain," he spits.
"Be right back, Imma blow the clouds away and bring the sun back for you!"
Dino jokes and laughs, and Hibari wants to laugh as well but he can't bring himself to. He still frowns and doesn't say anything, hence Dino steps closer to him, glancing tenderly, and holds Kyoya’s face in his hands — he can’t look away now. Dino feels on his skin the coldness of Hibari’s cheeks and the warmth of his giant scarf altogether, and doesn’t dislike it.
"You're worried that the rain will be a danger to us?”
Feeling exposed, a shiver tenses Hibari up. He hates Dino’s ability to read his thoughts just as much as it makes him fall in love with him all over again whenever his guesses about whatever crosses his mind are correct. Dino takes the pout that colors Hibari’s face with cuteness as a yes, and an “aww” escapes his lips, kissing Kyoya’s. He has the sweetest husband ever.
It’s a long kiss followed by a few more pecks. When their lips part, Hibari whispers, "Have fun and be careful."
And Dino replies, “I sure will,” but Kyoya’s dread still hasn’t lifted.
A few minutes away from the start of the race, some repairmen are still doing maintenance on Dino’s car, meanwhile the other two racers have already hopped on their own and are approaching the starting line. He finds it weird but doesn’t complain out loud. The intense fidgeting of his body is enough to give his impatience away.
When the repairmen yell at him that their job has ended, the Bucking Horse runs to his bijou, quickly checks that everything is in order, and then he jumps on the seat and joins the field.
The fumé glass of the helmet and the grey gloom of the sky don’t really offer a spectacular view of the road, but Dino’s thrill is sharp nevertheless. He would scream at the top of his lungs if he only had the chance to. He pushes on the gas one, two, three times instead, boisterously. Out of all the three racers he is definitely the most enthusiastic.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Mafia Grand Prix! Antonio Bovino, Dino Cavallone and Paolo Albani will have their showdown! Are you excited yet?!"
Upon the presenter's words, the spectators shout their loudest excitement. Clap until their hands hurt. Chant the name of the racer they cheer for. Of course, everyone except Hibari, who almost covers his ears for the noise instead — he cheers for Dino in his heart.
When the crowd calms down, the speakers dominate the field again.
"Ready…"
Dino grips the wheel more tightly.
"Steady…"
Hibari holds his breath.
"Go!"
The cars roar like titans and invade the road for the first of fifty laps.
For half of the race, Dino is able to keep his second position steadily, and while he is having the time of his life — cars and tracks truly are his own place — he is also here to win the golden trophy and refuses to settle for the silver one.
When the guy from the Bovino family is in sight, the Bucking Horse sprints full force to erase the distance between them. Adrenaline is his new oxygen.
But right when he is close to surpass him, a clack scares him.
At that speed, Dino doesn't even have the time to understand what happens. But everyone else witnesses the way his car drops on the side where the tire has detached. Hundreds of ears are stunned by the screeching noise of metal on asphalt. Dino loses control of the vehicle and the last thing he sees is the grey of a wall before he crashes right into it with the force of a shuttle.
The crowd begins to scream in terror. Romario and Hibari jump out of their seats and stare at the lump of concrete and metal, then look at each other with sheer panic in their eyes, nearly vomiting their hearts.
Hibari rushes to the track faster than he can think, screaming Dino's name. Romario follows him suit, picking digits on his phone and crying out for rescue.
When they reach the Bucking Horse, the tournament's emergency team is already on the field, and it's all kinds of bad.
Dino's car is half destroyed from the crash and Dino himself is losing blood under his helmet. He won't open his eyes, not even when they keep yelling at him and trying to slap him awake.
Hibari snaps at everyone around him for the lack of Sun boxes and for taking too long to help Dino in the ambulance. He snaps at Dino for not waking the fuck up.
Mr. Cavallone fell into a coma due to brain injury.
These words echo in Hibari's ears, the torment makes him feel the need to puke.
Hibari sits in Dino’s hospital room, lost in thought and in the company of the beeps that give a sound to his husband’s slow paced heartbeat. It’s almost night time outside, and the Guardian struggles to believe that just a few hours earlier Dino was shining at the top of his joy and now he is bedridden and in a profound slumber.
Hibari could have never guessed that car crash and comatose Dino would be the names of the anxiety that messed up his stomach for the whole day. Now what’s eating him alive is the regret for not doing anything about it. For not dragging Dino home before the race.
The night leaves space for the sun to rise, and then for the stars to fill the sky again. Days and days pass like this, Hibari can’t count them anymore. He pays his husband a visit everyday and stays by his side from morning to evening, sometimes holding Dino's tattooed hand in his, caressing his swollen cheeks, kissing his forehead covered by milky bandages.
Other times, sitting on a chair or on the windowsill and staring into the void outside, neglecting his sleep and meals and barely ever leaving the room even when Romario begs him to get some rest, in the hope that when Dino opens his eyes he won't find himself alone.
One night, Romario walks in the room as Hibari brings the hand to his lips and leaves the lightest of pecks on Dino's gold band, an endless prayer is all that Kyoya’s thoughts are about.
Romario sees that crystals begin to scratch Hibari's cheeks and wet the bed sheets. Hibari doesn't hear him. Romario closes the door again in reverent respect and sits on the nearest chair he finds in the hallway, unable to stop his tears from streaming down.
The second week since the accident has gone by. Dino has never moved an inch, Hibari has started to lose his sanity, and everyone around him is trying to keep him quiet while also dealing with their own concern.
But Hibari can't do this, he can't stand looking at his husband lying still any longer. He runs outside of the hospital, in search of fresh air yet unsure about where to go.
It's Romario's turn to watch over his boss. His grief isn't all that different from Hibari's, and considering that Dino is like a son to his right-hand man, he is terrified by the idea that he could lose his child the next second.
On this day, Squalo has come to the hospital as well, for the first time. He sits next to Romario in an uncharacteristically grave silence.
No one dares say a single word until the silence of the room is broken by a noise that seems to come from the bed.
Squalo jerks on his chair, but other than this, he doesn't move. Romario, who dozed off, doesn't hear anything.
The sound repeats, and Squalo's ears recognize it as a groan. A pained and tired wail rather than an angry grunt. Squalo shakes Romario's arm to make him wake up — the poor man jumps out of his dreams with a loud snore, and looks around him, confused.
As Romario adjusts his glasses on his nose and regains composure, he hears a whisper, and he thinks that his ears are failing him, and yet he can't stop his legs from rushing to the side of Dino's bed.
But his ears are doing fine, and a second murmur that calls his name brings him to tears.
"Romario…" There's a long pause before Dino finds in himself enough breath to speak again. "Where am I…?"
"Boss!" Romario yells through his tears. He wipes them with the sleeve of his suit, but they just won't stop. "We're in the hospital… You crashed your car and" — sniffs and sobbings break his rumbling voice — "You were in a coma, you didn't wake up for two weeks, and, and—"
"And you made everyone sick in their stomach worrying, voi! You dumb stud!"
Squalo finishes the sentence for Romario who can't even speak anymore due to all the crying.
Dino emits a weak laugh trying to greet his ever-so-elegant best friend, and every bone and muscle of his begins to feel like it’s been set on fire. His head starts stinging like it’s being stabbed by a million needles, and it’s right when he twists in his ache and his friend and subordinate hurry to aid him that the door opens, and a man in a black suit enters the room, putting the fuss to an end.
Squalo and Romario call Hibari’s name in unison. Judging from the gloomy look on his face, Hibari didn’t have a great time outside.
But Romario quickly cheers him up. “Kyoya, the boss woke up!”
And in fact, Hibari’s diamond eyes widen, screaming an emotion in between disbelief and surprise. Hibari runs towards Dino, almost tearing up.
Dino witnesses the scene while still feeling numb because of the pain. He pays Hibari a confused glance, he stares at him with his tired ambers as if he is a student who has just entered the wrong class before he finally murmurs, "Sorry… who are you?"
Hibari thinks he didn’t hear well. The three allies gaze at each other for a second, and then glare back at Dino with the same bewilderment as if they had just seen a ghost.
“What do you mean who am I? I’m Kyoya,” the Kyoya in question answers, as if it’s the most obvious thing.
Because it is.
But not to Dino. "Have we met before?"
Hibari blinks three times in response. "Dino, this is not funny," he mumbles through his teeth as irritation begins to heathen his cheeks up with ruby flush and a frown. “Quit this joke if you don't want to be bitten to death.”
“I’m sorry but,” the Bucking Horse repeats, still very confused. “I really don’t know you.”
Hibari is shocked. Petrified. Something about the dubious line in Dino’s face tells the Cloud Guardian that he is absolutely serious, even though Dino seems to have no problem in recognizing his right-hand man and his childhood friend.
This fuels Hibari’s anger even more. He sends the hem of the bed sheet that covers Dino’s left limb flying, he grabs Dino’s wrist and without a single care he puts both of their left hands on his face. The wedding rings shine in Dino’s perplexed eyes. The hospital quakes under Hibari’s enraged shout.
“I am your husband!”
Time stops in the room as the both of them keep staring at each other like they’re speaking to an alien.
“What the fuck do you mean I'm married?!”
The other two men are afraid to even breathe. No one says anything, no one bats an eye.
Then, a speechless Hibari on the verge of tears loosens his angry grip on Dino’s hand, which drops on the mattress, victim of gravity. Hibari offers him a last sulk before rushing out of the room, slamming the door behind his back.
Squalo and Romario ask the Bucking Horse whether he is serious or not, and decide that it's time to call the doctors.
"The brain injury has caused retrograde amnesia," the doctor explains to a very desolate Hibari, who hadn't been at the hospital for two days since the Bucking Horse pulled that trigger at him.
"Over twenty years of memories were erased," adds an even more mortified Romario, who is here to listen to the one-sided talk between Hibari and the doctor. "I asked the boss directly… It seems like he only remembers things up to his teenage days. He knows about his position in our family, about the meaning of his crest, the bloodbath against the Irregolare and even his father's death."
Hibari listens to him, back against a wall, crossed arms and shut eyes.
"He knows me and Squalo because we were part of his childhood. He also remembers Reborn, while he doesn't have any recollection of Namimori nor of being associated with the Tenth Vongola. Tsunayoshi had a video call with the boss earlier and he didn't recognize him."
Hibari's silence falls even graver and Romario becomes even more apologetic. "This memory loss is the reason why he doesn't remember about you either, Kyoya."
A sigh breaks Hibari's breath. How can twenty years worth of memories be gone just like this? And why did it have to be the period where they got to know each other, grow with each other, fall in love with each other? Twenty years is a good portion of Hibari's life, who is in his thirties, and if he has to give a name to the person who has had the biggest impact in this time span, then it's Dino without a single doubt. But it's gone. It's all as if nothing ever happened, because Dino doesn't remember about him.
Does this put an end to the marriage, too? Hibari doesn't want to give himself the answer to this question.
"Is this permanent?" Kyoya breathes.
"There is a chance that Mr. Cavallone will regain his memories over time," it's the doctor who replies again. "Bringing him to places you have been to may be of help, for example. But don't put pressure on him."
"Good thing," Hibari mutters, turning his back to the two people next to him and walking away from them before they can see that his eyes have become red and swollen. He wants to disappear.
"Kyoya," Romario stops him as he gets a hunch about his imminent intentions. "The boss needs your help now more than ever."
Yes, that's true. But Hibari isn't so comfortable with the idea of being chit chatty with Dino when he has no clue of who he is, even though the wedding ring that shines on his tattooed hand is the irrefutable proof of the love he has felt for Hibari.
When Dino is discharged from the hospital he resumes his regular life. Or at least what he remembers about it — which is little to nothing.
Reborn gives him the first updates: first of all he learns that twenty years ago Reborn stopped being his tutor because he was called for the greater mission to train the kid who was designated as the tenth boss of the Vongola family. Dino knows about the prominence of this group, but his memories stop at his alliance with its ninth boss. He is shocked to hear that Timoteo has a descendant in Japan and that even he himself used to pay him plenty of visits and helped him dozens of times during his growth and after he succeeded to his late grandfather. It warms his heart to find out that Tsuna, just like him, used to be a loser in his teenage years but that thanks to Reborn’s training he has managed to become a powerful and trustworthy boss.
When he gets to have a video call with Sawada again, the latter also mentions how they have cared about each other like they were siblings and how grateful he is to have had an inspirational figure like Dino’s in his life.
Dino also learns that Tsuna, as the head of the Vongola and the bearer of the Sky ring, is surrounded by six trusted men: the six Guardians who also used to have a ring of their flame attribute before they all got destroyed — Sky ring included. The guy who popped out of the blue at the hospital is his Cloud Guardian, Hibari Kyoya. According to Tsuna’s report, Hibari was the first and only brat that Dino ever tutored and their relationship evolved over and over through the years until the two of them became officially a couple.
“Hibari-san always preferred joining your missions rather than mine,” Tsuna chuckles.
“Is that so?”
“Yes, he hates crowds so he does things on his own, away from the other Guardians.”
Sawada tells his elder about all the ways Hibari joined his cause while also staying at safe distance from his family. “Hibari-san has always been aloof and scary so he was the last person I thought would get married,” he laughs again. “But you are his husband, Dino-san, and you even make a great couple together. There are many other people who can confirm this!”
This greatness is heavy on Dino’s thoughts. “Where is he now, Tsuna? Do you know?”
“I have no clue,” Sawada sighs. “He goes missing when he doesn’t want to be disturbed…”
A couple of days later, Dino meets Squalo again.
"Voi! Of fucking course you're married, I was your best man!” Squalo roars so loudly that Dino needs to cover his ears. “Of all the assholes you know, you had to forget about your own goddamn husband, huh? I never saw him as depressed as when you were horizontal.”
As if this is Dino’s fault: he pouts, saddened. “I want to talk to him, but Tsuna told me he disappeared…”
“Yeah, that’s your usual Hibari. The fucker appears and disappears whenever he likes. You always bitched about how he didn’t show up for days after you argued.”
“Stop insulting him,” Dino complains, but he knows that his friend will likely ignore him. “Any idea of where he could be?”
Squalo shrugs. “Fuck if I know!”
“I have to find him!”
“Go and see if his right-hand man can help you, then. Kusakabe’s his name, I think.”
Dino’s eyes sparkle with hope. “I’m sure Romario knows him!”
Dino has a few selfies of him and Hibari in his mobile and a couple of frames in his room, but none of them has tickled his brain with memories about him so far.
In one of the frames, Dino hugs Kyoya from behind and does the peace sign as he offers the camera his most radiant beam. Hibari has crossed arms and looks away, but a slim curve on his lips betrays his stoic face. They’re way younger here, in fact Romario told him it is probably from the days where the two of them had just started dating.
The other photo leaves no doubt about when it was taken instead: it’s from their wedding day. They are both dressed in white suits and, for the special occasion, they swapped their motif colors: Dino wears a purple bowtie and Hibari has an orange necktie. Again, Romario told his boss that everyone was surprised at how well bright hues suited Hibari, and it’s a shame that he always wears black.
They’re almost kissing in this picture. The professionality with which it was taken has Dino breathless, but other than this, whenever he stares at it he feels so much remorse for not having the tiniest recollection of such a passionate moment. He takes the frame in his hands as if he wants to caress it. The blond man in the photo is him but the more he looks at it the more he feels like he is a guest at someone else’s marriage. A little circle wets the glass, then another, then his room is filled with his sobbings and sniffles.
Romario walks in right when Dino cleans his face with the sleeve of his jacket. Dino hears his steps and turns around, greeting him with a smile so broken that the older man can’t help but run up to him and give him the tightest fatherly hug that his arms can carry.
Dino hugs him back, the frame still in his hands, and muffles his cries in the hem of Romario’s suit.
Still hiding his face on his subordinate’s shoulder, Dino asks, “Do you know where Kyoya is?”
Romario wipes his tears away with his thumb and pointer before replying. “No, Boss, I’m sorry.”
“I need to find him,” Dino whispers the same words he told Squalo the other day. “I need him to tell me everything about himself. About me. About us.”
“I know, Boss, I know. But Kyoya is always unavailable when he is unwell. Give him some time and he’ll show up…”
To the shock of Romario, Dino snaps out of the hug. And begins to yell. “Y’all keep telling me that Kyoya disappears when he is upset, but what about me, huh? Am I not ripping my hair out because of this mess?!
“It’s a miracle that I’m alive and I can’t remember half of my fucking life! I am married to a man I don’t know of! He is angry at me and doesn’t want to see me because of that! How am I supposed to feel right now?! Say it!”
Dino’s face is again a sorry thing to look at. He can’t stop the new waterfall of tears that clog his eyes, no matter how hard he scratches them away.
The man in suit doesn’t get mad at his boss, understanding as always, even though he has just been lashed out at for no reason. He takes a deep breath. “Dino,” rare are the times he calls him his name. “I know you’re heartbroken too. But Kyoya loves you and he has always come back for you. I trust that he’ll do it this time as well.”
The Bucking Horse melts under these words but doesn’t give it away. “I can’t wait for him to return, I have to search for him! You’re friends with his right-hand man, right? Let me talk to him!”
Romario gives him Kusakabe’s contact and then comments through a warm smile, “You’re still the same, Boss.”
“What do you mean?”
“... I hope you will remember about it soon.”