Disclaimers: I do not own YnM, so please don't sue! They belong to the wonderful Yoko Matsushita… I'm just borrowing them.

AN: This is my second YnM fic, so please be gentle! Mucho thanks to my wonderful beta, Neko Kate-chan… Read her stuff! It's awesome! Also, there is a reference to episode 15 and 16 of the anime, and volume 7 of the manga. It's very slight, so you may not notice, but head's up, just in case!

Sealed With A Kiss
Chapter One: Tired of Waiting

Watari Yutaka and Tsuzuki Asato were huddled together near the coffee pot in the employee break room. There was an empty glass vial resting on the counter near where the two of them were talking. The other two occupants, Kurosaki Hisoka and Tatsumi Seiichirou, couldn't hear a word they were saying, although they did eye the empty vial near the golden haired scientist with trepidation.

Finally breaking from their impromptu huddle, Watari and Tsuzuki joined their colleagues. Tsuzuki carried a green mug and a purple mug, while Watari carried a blue mug and a gold mug. Reaching the table where Tatsumi and Hisoka sat, they placed mugs in front of them.

Hisoka eyed his green mug warily. The golden-eyed scientist was well known in Meifu for slipping potions into peoples drinks to test his experiments. The green-eyed shinigami let his eyes wander over to where the empty vial sat, and back to his mug. "Tsuzuki?"

The violet-eyed shinigami looked at his partner, an innocent smile on his face. "Yes, Hisoka?"

The empath bit his lip, trying to figure out how to phrase his question. "Do you think I could use your cup today, Tsuzuki?"

Tsuzuki slid a nervous glance at Watari, who shrugged helplessly. "Why, Hisoka?"

"I just think it would be neat to switch cups for the day, that's all," was the young man's reply.

Tatsumi cleared his throat and looked at Watari. "I believe that's a good idea, don't you, Watari-san? Perhaps we should switch cups as well."

"But you said that you hated my cup, Tatsumi! Why would you want to drink out of it?" There was a note of desperation in the scientist's voice, and Tatsumi noticed.

"Come on, Watari-san," the secretary cajoled. "If I didn't like your cup, why would I ask to use it?"

"Because you like me?" the scientist replied hopefully.

Tatsumi didn't respond, but there was a faint blush on his cheeks that Watari found promising. Watari sighed, but handed over his cup. Taking his cue from the scientist, Tsuzuki handed over his cup as well.

The secretary and Hisoka smiled charmingly at their partners before taking a sip of the coffee. They both savored the taste, subtly checking for any variation in flavor that would tip them off to a potion. Finding nothing out of the ordinary, the two men happily drank their coffee.

Watari and Tsuzuki glared at the cups that were in front of them. There was nothing wrong with the coffee, but the two shinigami were extremely attached to their cups. Deciding that they may as well drink their coffee before it got cold, they picked up the cups and took a sip.

The coffee was starting to cool down, but not enough that it was undrinkable. Tsuzuki noticed Hisoka staring at him, but he shrugged it off. The empath was probably just staring off into space. After all, Hisoka wasn't the type to stare unless there was something noticeably wrong with said person.

It was quiet. No one was talking, and Tsuzuki was going insane with the silence. All that could be heard in the break room was the gentle sipping of coffee. Deciding that it was up to him to start a conversation, Tsuzuki turned to Watari, who in turn was staring at him.

Suddenly, the amethyst-eyed shinigami's eyes lost focus, and he fell onto Watari, who immediately wrapped his arms around Tsuzuki and pulled him onto his lap. Watari's eyes were thoughtful, as if he really wasn't concentrating on what was happening, just reacting purely out of instinct.

While this was happening, Tatsumi and Hisoka had stood and were making their way around the table to see if their partners were okay. The empath gently pulled Tsuzuki from Watari's grasp and put him on the floor, placing Tsuzuki's head in his lap. Tatsumi, however, had turned Watari's chair around to face him and was currently kneeling between the blonde scientist's knees.

"Tsuzuki! Are you okay?" Hisoka was running his fingers through his partner's hair, trying to bring the amethyst-eyed shinigami's attention to him. "Tsuzuki?"

Tsuzuki's eyes focused on Hisoka's face, and the green-eyed shinigami wasn't sure what to make of the emotions twirling in the amethyst eyes. He had long ago blocked himself from picking up Tsuzuki's emotions after getting a full-blown account of his pain in the months following the Touda incident.

"Hisoka?" Tsuzuki yawned, closing his eyes then fluttering them open again. "What happened? Why am I on the floor?" There was puzzlement in the elder shinigami's face as he looked around and noticed where he lay. "Did I fall asleep?"

Hisoka blinked back his surprise. Asleep? Is that what happened? It would explain why Watari-san pulled Tsuzuki into his lap… The younger man looked down at his partner before responding. "Hai. I think you did, Tsuzuki. What were you doing last night? Did you get any sleep?"

Tsuzuki smiled at Hisoka's concern. "Me and Watari went out last night. Got home late, and I figured if I went to sleep, I wouldn't make it to work today." Finally realizing his head was in the green-eyed man's lap, he sat up. "Gomen, Hisoka. I didn't mean to worry you."

Hisoka huffed, muttering, "I wasn't worried, baka." He stood up, brushing off imaginary lint from his pants. Offering a hand to Tsuzuki, he helped the taller man off the floor as well.

Tatsumi, meanwhile, was gently talking with Watari, who was looking curiously at the secretary. It seemed that Watari was confused as to why he had Tatsumi kneeling between his legs, hands clasped tightly in his, while speaking softly to the scientist. Deciding that perhaps he better listen to Tatsumi, seeing as the secretary had a tendency to ask others what he had just said, he caught the tail end of a sentence.

"… worried." Tatsumi paused for breath. The thoughtful look was gone from the golden eyes, but still, the older man continued to talk in what he hoped was a soothing voice. "Did you put something in Kurosaki-kun's and my coffee, Watari-san?" The secretary's voice held a warm tinge of anger, but the anger wasn't enough to mask the concern underneath.

Watari squeezed Tatsumi's hands gently, bringing a blush to the usually stoic man's face. "I didn't put anything in the coffee. I'm just tired, and I guess my mind wandered off."

Deciding that was explanation enough, Tatsumi stood, slowly pulling his hands away from Watari. "Well, then. If you're feeling better, might I suggest getting back to work?" And with that, he turned around and the left the break room, his coffee forgotten.

Watari watched the secretary leave, a sad expression on his face. The least he could do was stay to make sure I really was okay instead of taking my word for it. The golden-eyed scientist sighed. Stupid, practical Tatsumi. Pushing away his thoughts of the blue-eyed man, Watari turned to where Tsuzuki and Hisoka stood.

Hisoka looked a little mad, but underneath the anger, he could see concern he felt for the other man. Fleetingly, a picture of ice-cold cobalt-eyes clouded his vision, but he forcefully pushed the thought aside. Turning his focus back to the two in front of them, he offered a smile.

Emerald green eyes were staring into golden ones, silently demanding an answer. When the scientist wasn't forthcoming, Hisoka sighed. "What were you two doing last night that gave you both no sleep?"

Tsuzuki bit his lip, and looked down at his feet. Watari just smiled. "What's wrong, Bon? Don't trust your lover?"

Hisoka turned bright red at the insinuation. "HE'S NOT MY LOVER!" Watari bit back a laugh at the younger man's outburst, but promptly regained control at the glare that was shot his way. "I'm just concerned because he's my partner." With that, he left the break room, leaving Watari and Tsuzuki alone.

"Well, at least he didn't throw anything," Tsuzuki offered brightly.

Watari rolled his eyes, walking to where Tsuzuki stood. "Yeah, I guess. But if that's how he took us staying out all night, how do you think he's going to take us dating?"

Tsuzuki smiled charmingly at the blonde scientist. "I have no doubt he'll take it much worse than this." The elder shinigami's smile faltered when he saw his 'boyfriend's' eyes. "Come on Watari. We know Tatsumi likes you, he told me himself. He just needs a push to help him."

The violet-eyed man was rewarded with a small smile. "Thanks, Tsuzuki, but… Well, I don't know if this will work when it comes to Tatsumi. With Bon, it's a sure thing."

Tsuzuki wrapped his arms around the blonde, giving him a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry. We both know he cares. He's just not the greatest person when it comes to showing it."

Watari returned the embrace, softly replying, "I hope your right, Tsuzuki." Pulling away from Tsuzuki, the scientist ran a hand through his hair. "Anyway, we should probably figure out how to break the news to them."

Tsuzuki pouted. "I thought we already decided that. Find some way to get them to your lab where they walk in on us kissing, then stutter out an explanation."

Golden eyes met violet eyes as Watari considered this. "We decided that? When?"

Tsuzuki's pout deepened at the confusion in the gold-eyed scientist's voice. "Don't you remember?" At the blank look in his friend's eyes, he sighed. "We said that's what we'd do when you dropped me off this morning."

Watari cast his mind back, trying to find any vague recollection of agreeing to that. When finding none, he looked suspiciously at the violet-eyed shinigami. "Are you sure you didn't just make that up?"

Tsuzuki blinked, face transforming into his ultimate, ultra-cute-I-can't-do-anything-wrong-don't-you-believe-me? face. Getting his answer from the other man's look, Watari sighed. "Since I don't have anything better, we'll go with that, but if Bon starts throwing things, this is all your fault, and I'm using you as my shield."

"Waaah! Watari! Don't be mean! You can't sic Hisoka on me!" Violet eyes were wide, tears overflowing, making them impossibly wider. Watari just glared. Defeated, Tsuzuki's shoulders slumped. "Fine."

Smiling brightly, Watari put an arm around the older man. "I have just the thing that will have them running to the lab."

XxX

BOOOM!

Startled, Tatsumi jumped from his chair, legs on autopilot to the door. In the back of his mind, he knew that he really shouldn't be worried about the blonde scientist. After all, it wasn't as though he could kill himself in those lab explosions, but still, the secretary worried and hurried to the lab.

Just as he was turning the corner that led to the lab, he noticed a frantic looking Hisoka right beside him. "Tsuzuki-san is with Watari-san, I suppose?" A curt nod from the younger man, and Tatsumi sighed.

Hisoka reached the door first, pulling it open to allow black smoke to billow into the hallway. Covering his mouth, the secretary and empath entered the lab cautiously. Tatsumi allowed his eyes to take in the recent destruction; he mentally calculated the cost it would take to repair the damage.

Finally, he found Watari. The scientist was on the floor, wrapped in Tsuzuki's arms. He was about to let out a sigh of relief when he realized just what they were doing.

Watari, who at first glance, seemed to be knocked out, was really just relaxed. His eyes were closed, and his body was pressed up tightly against Tsuzuki's, who was kissing the scientist.

Tatsumi stared at the two in utter shock. Tsuzuki and Watari? It can't be… Tsuzuki likes Kurosaki-kun. He told me himself… As soon as the thought crossed his mind, his eyes sought out his younger companion.

Hisoka's eyes were locked on Tsuzuki and Watari; tears wet the empath's cheeks. "Tsuzuki?" he whispered.

At Hisoka's whisper, the two men embracing broke apart. "Hisoka?" Tsuzuki's voice sounded slightly sleepy, as though he still wasn't quite awake.

"What the HELL are you doing?" Hisoka yelled.

Tsuzuki blinked, expression startled. "Huh?"

Tatsumi watched in detached curiosity as tears became to stream down the empath's cheeks with more fervor. Still in his detached state, he watched as Hisoka turned and ran out the room.

Tsuzuki and Watari shared a look before Tsuzuki too took off running out the room, presumably after Hisoka.

Watari stood, warily watching the secretary. Tatsumi hadn't said anything, just watched. It was odd, although the scientist knew that Tatsumi wasn't comfortable around scenes like the one he and Tsuzuki had just created. Still, the blonde had thought that the dark haired man would have something to say.

Finally, Watari couldn't take the silence any longer. "Are you okay, Tatsumi?"

Tatsumi looked at Watari as if he'd never seen him before. "I'm fine, Watari-san. It's I who should be asking you if you're okay."

Watari nodded. "I'm okay, Tatsumi. " A few more minutes of quiet passed between the two. Patiently, Watari waited for the question he knew would come, but Tatsumi seemed unwilling to cooperate. Sighing, Watari took the situation into his own hands. "Are you wondering about me and Tsuzuki?"

Taken aback, Tatsumi nodded. "Actually, I was. Although, I'm quite certain I can figure out what's going on between the two of you myself."

Watari sighed again. "We were tired of waiting for people who didn't know we exist, Seiichirou."

Tatsumi looked at his hands, not quite sure what to say. "So, basically, this a relationship of convenience?"

The scientist appeared thoughtful for a moment. "I suppose. We're lonely, and we compliment each other fairly well. We both know that we're in love with someone else, so I guess it really is a relationship of convenience."

The secretary looked at Watari. Looking him straight in the eye, he asked, "Who were you waiting for, Yutaka?"

Watari smiled sadly. "You."

XxX

Tsuzuki chased Hisoka all the way to the library. Cursing softly, he followed the younger man into the building, past the GuShoShin, and to the back of the building. When he caught up, the empath turned to face him.

"Why?" There were so many questions in that one word, so many emotions, that Tsuzuki almost broke down and told him it wasn't real, that it was all pretend.

Taking a steadying breath, the elder shinigami strengthened his resolve. He had tried every way to get his partner to notice him, and none of them had worked. The only way Hisoka showed he cared was when the older man was hurt or the empath was jealous. Quietly, Tsuzuki answered. "We were lonely. We were tired of waiting, of hoping. We understand each other."

Hisoka fought back his tears. He knew he wasn't the easiest person to get along with, and he certainly wasn't dense enough to miss all of the signs that his older partner was giving him. It was just that his fear of getting hurt was so great, that he couldn't respond, and now that Tsuzuki was with someone else… The pain was so much worse than when Muraki had killed him. "Why couldn't you wait any more, Tsuzuki?"

Tsuzuki's heart broke at the pain filled voice of his partner. He wanted nothing more than to soothe his partner, to try to make things right, but he knew he couldn't. "You never gave me a sign. You never told me to wait."

"But… I need you," Hisoka whispered brokenly.

"And you still have me. I don't love Watari, and he doesn't love me, but we both need someone. You're not ready to be with me."

With that said, Tsuzuki turned and walked away, his heart breaking with every step. Damn it, he thought. I knew this was going to be hard, but… I wonder, is it really worth it?

TBC…