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Kyouya closed the door of the hotel room behind himself, already striding further as he heard the soft click of the lock. He was exhausted. It was about the time he got some sleep.
Stripping off his tie on the way, he dropped it off before falling down on the bed. It was big and soft, though not as comfortable as he was used to. His time in the Cavallone Mansion had made him so very spoiled, he thought with a wry smirk even as he started unbuttoning his shirt at a lazy pace. To think that he would ever find a place too uncomfortable to sleep. Well, less comfortable than ideal, to be precise. He was certain there would never be a solid surface that wasn't of harmful temperatures he couldn't sleep on, were he tired enough. As exhausted as he was now, he would have slept like a baby on a slab of stone.
Eyes tracing the uninteresting pattern of the ceiling, he let his mind wander, not having any particular direction in mind. The tasks he had to do to further his mission required constant alertness and vigilance; even he needed a break from such intensity every now and then. At least here, he was in relative safety. If someone tried to approach with murderous intent, his instincts would alert him in time.
At least the mission was drawing towards the end, he mused. Soon enough he would find the last of the people he was trying to track down. Once that happened, he would be able to get the information he needed, then get rid of the unnecessary people involved. Better not leave any stray litter behind himself. It would have been most uncouth to leave such loose ends. He preferred his missions completed in as neat and tidy manner as possible.
If he played his cards right, he might even get to set a mansion on fire at some point. Kyouya always enjoyed a properly charred manor in his wake. He did have a reputation to uphold, after all.
After he got the people and information needed, he would get to go home, he thought as he gathered one more bit of energy to get up and get his trousers off, draping them on a chair before shedding his now opened shirt. It was about the time. He enjoyed travelling every now and then, but it had been months.
Assuming, of course, that he would be welcome back. Dino had sounded rather irate as Kyouya had been leaving. As though it was his fault Sawada chose to send him on such a long mission.
It wasn't like he enjoyed it. Had he had the choice, he would have much preferred to carve his own path in life, doing whatever he wanted whenever he wanted wherever he wanted, as would have been more natural for him. However, there were prices you had to pay for your lot in life. The price he paid for the power he held in the mafia world was the constant fight for balance, balance between the Vongola and the Cavallone and the Foundation. He was part of the Vongola, hate it or not, as evident by the stone he carried with him. He was part of the Cavallone, the claim visible in the ring on his hand, a subtle yet constant reminder of the one alliance he refused to regret. He was part of the Foundation, the very head of it, the one who stood above everything and pulled all the strings.
Sometimes, not too often but still, two or all three of those would clash. In such situations, he had to pick sides, had to play favourites, had to choose what was the closest to him. At other times, he had to neglect one in favour of another for the simple fact that he couldn't devote himself to one of them entirely. This time, he had been forced to choose a mission for the Vongola over his own projects, over the blonde don waiting for him at home.
No, he did not enjoy it. No, he was not just running away, as Dino had accused in the heat of the moment. The mere notion was ridiculous. Kyouya did not run away from anything; for that to be applicable, there would have had to be something capable of holding him back in the first place. He was just doing what he had to. He carried the stone of Vongola, enjoying all the power it offered him, both in pure, raw battling potential and in the manner of social schemes in the ever-devious world of the mafia. In exchange for that, he sometimes had to carry out missions for Don Vongola.
Sawada Tsunayoshi had apologized most profusely, of course. He was very regretful to do this, really if he'd had any choice he wouldn't have sent Kyouya out, not at this time not for this long and he would be sure to make it up for both of them but really Kyouya was the only one capable of pulling this mission off. Kyouya had told him to shut up and stop apologizing. After all, such whines would not change the reality.
He would finish his mission and go home, then discover whether Dino was going to hold onto his promise of never wanting Kyouya back again if he wanted to leave so very badly. He rather doubted it, given his husband's herbivorous nature. Still, he did have to wonder. They had fought before, but never in quite as serious tones. More important than that, it was never Dino who was angry, not like this. He did get annoyed, yes, even irate when he thought Kyouya wasn't taking proper care of himself or whatever it was that was his latest complaint, but never before had Kyouya heard him being quite as furious as when he had walked off.
A humourless chuckle escaped Kyouya's lips as he laid himself down on the bed again, this time without his day clothes. Stupid herbivore. Out of all the things he'd been angry for over the years, of course the thing that would bother him the most would be Kyouya having to leave for a while.
It was rather unreasonable in Kyouya's not so very humble opinion. After all, even back when they had married Dino had known and accepted that Kyouya would still have to go out on missions on occasion. He hadn't had a complaint now. Why would he causue such a fuss now?
Not that Kyouya cared. Of course he didn't care. If Dino didn't want him back, it was his loss. Kyouya would be quite content to be free again. Sure, he might miss the sex, but he could live without. If the herbivore was truly so desperate to tie him back, Kyouya would be better off without him.
He turned to his side, trying to find a comfortable position. Despite being small compared with the bed he was used to back at home, the bed seemed quite empty for some reason. Empty and cold.
It didn't make sense. He wasn't so weak as to miss anyone, after all. He was just... used to it. That was all. Why the months on the road hadn't yet cured him of his habit, he didn't know, but all it was, was just that. A habit. An annoyance that was hardly worth his consideration.
As he slept, he dreamed of the taste of wine on his lips and the rays of sun filtered through the leaves of the trees in the garden, back home in Italy. Back home in the mansion with far too many people and too much life and a thousand other things that really should have bothered him but didn't.
In his dream, Dino's hands were warm on his skin.
His lips, Kyouya noted, were even warmer.