Disclaimer: I do not own Yami no Matsuei, and it hurts so much! Whaaa! Okay, anyway, on with the story! Yay!
Hisoka: That was SO lame…
Kanan: Oh, I knew you would say that, honey! –huggles-
Hisoka: -blushes-
Realistic Dreams
The signs weren't obvious at first.
He seemed chipper as always, munching on a cookie or a slice of cake, or complaining about work and a mean Tatsumi. Nothing really unusual. But then, he grew far quieter and solitary all of a sudden. Dark circles hung below his eyes and he didn't talk as much as usual. Hisoka noticed that his eating habits had not changed, but he decided to keep an eye on him, nevertheless.
Hisoka got to work even earlier than usual, and was the very first in the line for sweets. As the line moved along, the boy received a lot of surprised looks to see the "sugar hater" there so early, or even there at all. He took what he was given and just before leaving, he turned to face the startled faces with a small blush staining his cheeks.
"They're for my partner."
Whether he had convinced them, he didn't care, and he carried the sweets back to his and Tsuzuki's shared office, setting them on the other's desk. It was still very early, and he didn't quite feel like going to his own desk to get a head start on his work, so he rounded Tsuzuki's desk and sat in the chair. He spun it around a few times, getting a feel for it, but stopped once he felt queasy. It wasn't more or less comfortable than his own chair, but the fact that it belonged to his older, taller partner made him feel slightly small sitting in it. He wondered to himself how the older man could stand to fall asleep there. He decided to investigate. So, he tilted the chair back a bit, or in his case, a lot, since he was smaller, until he could put his legs atop the desk, minding the sweets. It wasn't comfortable at all. As soon as he was able, he got his feet back down. It was silly, but he noticed how his feet barely reached the floor. He had watched Tsuzuki sit in the chair was it was perfect.
With a sigh, Hisoka abandoned the thought and settled for staring at the drawers on the desk. There were five drawers. He counted again, this time aloud, and again after that. He was getting tired of that game, and though he knew it wasn't right, he opened the long, thin, top drawer. Inside were a large assortment of pens and pencils. He was always bugging Tatsumi about needing some, so, Hisoka guessed, the secretary had given in and bought him a bunch. He closed that drawer and opened the top drawer to the right. There were a lot of papers in there, and a ruler, a calculator and things of that nature. He closed that one and opened the next two down, which held items related to work, and finally, he was at the last one. It was deeper than the other drawers, and he tried to guess what was in it. He was wrong. He figured it would be a stack of coupons for sweets, but instead, he found a first aid kit, and a picture of their whole group from their last vacation together in the Hot Springs. Though he was practically being glomped by the Hokkaido girls, Hisoka had to smile at the picture.
"I enjoyed that vacation, a lot. We should go back real soon, ne, Hisoka?"
The boy jumped. He hadn't expected Tsuzuki to be standing by the door, smiling at him, however tired his smile looked. Hisoka could feel a blush rising to his cheeks as he quickly put the picture back and rose from the chair. He stood perfectly still as the man stared. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of silence, Tsuzuki laughed.
"I-I'm sorry I was snooping around in your desk, Tsuzuki!"
"Don't worry about it. You would have found that picture eventually."
"Um, right. But, why hide it?"
"Well, I thought you would get embarrassed if I kept it out for the whole world to see!"
"O-oh… thank you."
Tsuzuki smiled, and that was when Hisoka remembered the sweets, and saw that Tsuzuki had just discovered them, also. The man's face lit up a little.
"Oh, are these for me?"
"Um, yes. I got here early to get them for you."
"Thanks!"
Hisoka held out a cookie, and when Tsuzuki reached out to take it, the boy caught the sight of a bandage on his partner's hand. That was another bad sign. Lately, the man had been showing up to work with tiny cuts or bruises. He tried to hide them, but Hisoka always noticed.
"Did you get another injury, Tsuzuki?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. I was so tired, I fell down the stairs this morning! Haha… silly me! It's nothing serious, though."
Something about that excuse didn't seem truthful, but give the man's sleepy attitude, Hisoka didn't doubt that it was possible. He finally handed over the sweet, after staring at the bandage again, and Tsuzuki started to eat. Something wasn't right, but Tsuzuki wasn't talking. Either way, Hisoka would figure out the secret.