Okay. This should kill you/give you cavities with its sweetness. One of the two. This should also be sweet enough to make up for "Restraint" and "Bound/Straightjacket" XD
Usually I'm not so exremist, most of my fics have a blend of humor, angst, fluff, and what I like to think of as realism. Leave a review okay :D
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Secrets
Watari Yutaka was nursing a secret.
No one was sure what it was, but they were all certain it was some dastardly new wave of mischeif and none of the other Shinigami wanted a part of it. Especially not one Tatsumi Seiichiro.
The reason for this being, of course, that his birthday was coming up.
He hated the winter months enough as it was. Especially December.
Winter was a time of great stress. It was cold, lifeless, and heating his house was expensive. (He cut back on these costs by spending more time at the office than usual, but even there it was cold, because they didn't have enough of a budget for proper heating either. He swore Watari burned/exploded more things than usual purely for the warmth value.) Extra test tubes weren't the only thing to burn however. Money flowed out of his pocket like it were made of water, yen dissapearing like the light snow on unmelted ground.
Really, did people not realize just how expensive frivolity was? That's why it was called frivolous!
However, despite his penny pinching, Tatsumi did use Christmas as oppourtunity to express his appreciation for his friends and co-workers. Despite some jibes, and suggestions behind his back, he did not go out of his way to cut costs on presents. (He wasn't heartless!) However, he didn't go out of his way to put himself into debt either. (He had a lot of people to shop for!) Usually he made castella cake for the resident sweet fiends Terazuma (Maybe it was Kuro who actually liked the sweets so much), Konoe, and of course Tsuzuki. For Hisoka he visited old, used-bookshops and picked up old and interesting titles that couldn't be found anywhere else. For the Gushoshin, he simply did his best to threaten everyone into returning their books by the end of the year. The Count (urg) generally got a very brief, impersonal card from him. Chidsiru (and his Okinawan secretorial counterpart), Saya, and Yuma all also got cards--the latter two usually recieving a Pinkhouse catalouge gift card. For Wakaba, who was the epitomie of the female domestic, he usually got a high-quality sewing or cooking apparatus. And so it went down the line leaving only... Watari.
Watari was one of those infuriating people that were impossible to shop for. It didn't seem that way of course. Mostly because other didn't make as much of an effort when it came to the man. And Watari would accept whatever trinket or book or sadly inferior bit of science equiptment they had for him, and he would smile brightly and express grattitude. Because if nothing else his friends at least thought about him.
Tatsumi was one of the few people who ever asked the man outright, "What do you want for Christmas this year?" And it was always the same, infuriating, impossible answer.
"Really, I don't need anything. I have most of what I want, and anything technical that I wanted to get I'd probably have to help you order, thus eliminating the surprise element of it. It's okay. You really don't have to get me anything. I pretty much have the things that matter, my friends, and any stuff that I need I can get on my own. As if I need any more stuff." He chuckled here. And Tatsumi growled mentally because he was correct.
Watari did have everything. (He would not have been surprised if the Kansai man had the Holy Grail tucked away in a box in the lab somewhere.) What did that leave to get for him?
Tatsumi hated shopping for Watari, because he never could find anything up until the very few weeks--sometimes even days preceding Christmas. (Tatsumi did his Christmas shopping all year long, thank you--he did not procrastinate!) However, he enjoyed seeing Watari's eyes glow in genuine appreciation when he unwrapped whatever gift Tatsumi had given him. Watari would simply light up and ramble on and on that this was just what he needed, just what he'd wanted without realizing it.
This year he'd failed in his search, nothing seeming to quite fit. He wanted to get the man another electric blanket, as apparently the other one had worn out but.. to repeat a gift was just..
Watari didn't even have the good grace to be annoyed with him either. No, he had to go and be all Watari about it and thank him for not getting him something excessive that he didn't really need. Damnit. How could he feel both better about the situation and guiltier at the same time!?
...What had he been thinking about again? Oh that's right. Watari. Winter. Winter sucks and Watari had been scheming since late October.
The Christmas party had passed and, other than the usual drunken revelry that had occured, nothing else had happened, meaning that whatever plot Watari had been concocting was waiting for Tatsumi's other least favorite event of the winter. And that was namely his birthday party.
Why did everyone assume he needed 'a good stiff drink' or 'cheering up' or 'a good hard lay'? That is generally what his birthday party ended up being--people forcing drinks on him in an attempt to get him to 'open up about his problems' and inquire about his nonexistent lovelife. (Some bolder souls threatening to set him up with suitible cantidates.)
Tatsumi hated it. He was a boring drunk, and he didn't like the way alcohol made him feel. It only drew him further into himself and made him cranky, more irritable, and more likely to say offensive things and hurt others.
To put it lightly, it sucked royal 'nog.
However, he couldn't just not go into work. People kept dying, despite Christmastime.
He took relief in the fact that he could, at least, avoid most of them as they tended to get too drunk themselves to remember what they had been trying to do.
He didn't get presents either (not that he really minded), as people tended to give him them on Christmas. Sometimes they got him one large present, or two smaller ones, but it was all taken care of already.
Watari had broken tradition this year however, and had only given him a Christmas present.. promising him his birthday present later.
He wasn't sure if the prospect should frighten him or not.
Strangely when he got to his office, the customary birthday decorations were up, but there was a definite absence of half a dozen people trying to shove various forms of alcohol on him. How bizzare.
Even stranger was the note on his desk, informing him to go to Watari's lab immediately.
Tatsumi wasn't sure he liked that command. He had a suspicious feeling this was what all the grand scheming had been about. (For months, months, whenever walking by the lab he had heard the sounds of paper ruslting...Being folded, being cut, flapped about..Yet whenever he stepped into the lab it was.. clean immaculate. It was frustrating.)
In another twist of the bizzare everyone seemed to be looking at him as he walked down the hallway. As if they knew something he didn't..? Oh hells. They were in on it too.
He should run. Turn back and run right now.. and yet...
Suddenly he was greeted at the door to his lab by Watari who tossed his long winter coat at him. Tatsumi caught it, utterly bewildered. Watari smiled mysteriously, shrugging on his own long jacket.
"Watari," he started suspiciously, "What is--"
"Put your coat on. It's cold out there." Tatsumi blinked, but did as he was told. (Knowing that even if he didn't Watari would teleport them out into the cold anyways, ready or not.)
A hand found its way to his arm the moment he'd finished zipping up. And Watari transported them away...
...into a field. Somewhere where there was snow. He looked at Watari blankly,
"Watari," He tried to start again, but the man cut him off.
"Tatsumi." He paused. "Seiichiro," he corrected himself, "I know how much you hate the winter months.. I know how much you hate the strain and stress of the holidays and all the extra work that comes with it. I know you detest shopping for me, since I'm so hard to buy for, but in all those years I've always noticed you've never asked for anything back." He paused. "I had to help the guys at the office to help me arrange things, but I .. hope you like it." Tatsumi looked around again and suddenly he noticed something. Paper. Paper flowers, oragami shapes, cut outs, it was a sea of white paper on snow, invisible at a first, careless glance. He looked back at Watari, stunned. It must have taken ages to make all these... And that would explain why he'd needed the help in setting it up. There had to have been thousands of the things! Just as he was about to speak Watari cut him off again.
"My gift to you, Seiichiro, your birthday present is this: A moment of spring. From me to you." Tatsumi blinked, had he.. heard that right?
Watari stood in the center of his creations, arms raised wide to the heavens. A gentle breeze kicked up and there was a ripple throughought the medow, rustling the paper. And things burst forth into life and color. Tatsumi fancied he even saw snow melting away to reveal grass underneath. There was so much color it was blinding! It spread from Watari out to the edges of his creations, birds, butterflies, dragonflies swirling up around him, intensifying that breeze, sending gold hair flying. At his feet flowers and even toadstools came to life, rich, vibrant colors assaulting his eyes. Tatsumi was transfixed.
"Beautiful..." but he wasn't really looking at the flowers. He was staring at the spinnging man who was the epicenter of it all, a whirlwind of gold and light. He felt so small in the face of such beauty and power, such.. raw being. He realized Watari was so much more than just a Shinigami. He was, unlike them, a god of life--able to create it in places where there had been and (often) should be none. (And perhaps that was why he was fascinated with women.) Watari was the consumate god of spring, a creature of destruction and regeneration.
How long the moment lasted Tatsumi could not say, but as the creatures and plants fadded away, one by one he was left still staring at Watari, who stood smiling back at him, hands in his pockets. It was another several moments before Tatsumi could bring himself to say anything.
"Watari..." it came out softly in a white steam of cloud. he tried again, "I.. this.." The blonde's mouth twitched pleasantly in one of the corners. Tatsumi had to put a hand to his cheest, his heart was beating far too fast for some reason. "Watari this was... thank you." The blonde shrugged, truging past him.
"It was no problem." Tatsumi was almost reduced to spluttering at that. N-no problem!? He turned to look at Watari, who was concentrating his energy to teleport back to the office. Tatsumi's hand shot out and grabbed his arm, jarring his focus. Watari blinked up at him. "Tatsumi is something wrong..?"
Yes. Yes there was. I almost let you get away. He'd almost let Watari leave without telling him how much that scene had affected him, how that was the best birthday present he'd ever recieved. Without telling this man.. who had just changed the seasons for him and defied mother earth.. how damn beautiful he'd been. Without telling him...anything. Tatsumi tried to collect his thoughts which were all racing wildly, as if scattered to the wind that Watari had summoned.
"Watari I...you never got a Christmas present from me this year." Watari blinked,
"This again? Really Tatsumi it's not a big deal. I already have--"Tatsumi shook his head.
"That was because I was a fool.. and.. I didn't know what it was I wanted to get you but I .. I know now. So.." He took in a breath. This was so.. ermbarresing but his body was clamoring for him to do it, too many forces had been at work just now for him to sit by and let things happen. His hands shifted and suddenly he was bringing the man closer, bending his head down and all but stealing a kiss.
To say Watari had been surprised would have been..a little bit of an understatement. However, that was not to say he didn't respond, cold lips warming with their combined breath. Watari almost felt like giggling. Tatsumi never took these kinds of openings, and he always scorned the mistletoe tradition. Which was really a damn shame, seeing as how good the man was at kissing... When Tatsumi pulled away again, his blue eyes were full of uncertainty, almost fearful of what Watari might say. He mumbled another apology. "Sorry it's late.." Watari put a hand to Tatsumi's shoulder, shaking his head.
"No, not really. I think it was right on time." He smiled, "Let's continue this somewhere warm okay? I have some hot cocoa heating up in the lab." Tatsumi nodded and smiled right back.
"I think I'd like that." Watari ghosted them back to his labratory and Tatsumi suddenly felt like laughing until his head spun.
Winter...was fantastic.