Warnings: Vaguely used anime/manga spoilers. Also, this is both PART 1 of the Out of Context Chapter from You and I and the recently written PART 2 and PART 3. Somehow PART 1 in You and I got deleted. I tried to upload it again, but it kept giving me problems so I just waited until PART 2 and 3 were done and joined them together to make it easier. I'm so sorry everyone for all the confusion.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yami no Matsuei or Tsuzuki and Hisoka. But here's hoping Matsushita will loan them out to me someday so that these stories can become reality! ;D

Beta: Eria

Out of Context
By EggDropSoup

Part I: Scandal

Kurosaki Hisoka was having a good day. He had finished his paperwork on time and had just come back from the library with his newest literary conquest. With Tsuzuki nowhere around, he had planned to find a nice shady spot and start reading. Yes, everything seemed to be going well for him and he couldn't help the little jump in his step as he took a shortcut, passing by Watari's lab building.

But all plans of reading quickly changed the moment he overheard a strange conversation coming from the lab's open window.

"Please, Watari, I need you." He knew that voice right away, and his eyebrows rose in sudden interest as to why his partner was visiting Watari-san's lab so late in the evening. Usually Tsuzuki went home right away after work. "Without it…I just-don't know what I'll do!"

Curiously, Hisoka moved closer to the open window, stopping right underneath it. He couldn't see in it at all -the wall was too tall- but he could definitely hear their exchange more clearly.

"Tsuzuki…we can't keep doing this," the blond scientist's voice was patient, placating.

"I know," the brunet agreed, giving a weary sigh, "I'm sorry. Just this one last time, please. You're the only one I can count on."

As Hisoka listened, his interest grew into concern. Was something bothering his partner? If so, why didn't Tsuzuki just come to him? Was it something that Tsuzuki could only confide in Watari about?

"I am good," Watari's self-assured chuckle seemed to knock all the concern Hisoka was feeling away. The blond bristled uncomfortably, realizing at that moment how dirty their conversation was becoming.

"So you'll help me?" his partner's anxious voice inquired; and even though he couldn't see the man, Hisoka could almost imagine the hopeful expression on Tsuzuki's face.

"Yes, I'll come over right after. I just need to pick up a few things we can use." Hisoka frowned. Things? What kind of things?

Tsuzuki chortled lightly, "Okay, but don't bring over so many toys this time. They always make things messier than they need to be."

"Spoilsport," Watari huffed, sounding very much put off. "It's never fun just using our hands."

Green eyes boggled as Hisoka nearly choked on his own spit. He had to fiercely pinch his own arm to keep himself from exploding into a loud coughing fit.

Fortunately for the gasping teen, the two men didn't stick around after saying goodbye and he was free to let out a strangled breath- his face flaming as his muddled brain pondered over the conversation they had had and what it could be alluding too.

The way Tsuzuki and Watari had been talking almost sounded like they were...

He let the book in his hand drop into the tall grass at the sudden ache in his chest. But the two couldn't be…they absolutely couldn't…or could they?

It wasn't like Hisoka had a say on what Tsuzuki did on his own time. Not to mention, they hadn't exactly established what they were to each other outside of their work partnership. But he had thought that at least, they had this mutual understanding between them. With how they had been getting closer on assignments lately and after everything they'd been through, Hisoka certainly couldn't see himself with someone else. He had thought, by Tsuzuki's behavior, that the brunet felt the same too.

Like a light switch going off, the confusion on his face immediately changed to anger and he clenched his fists tightly at his side.

Tsuzuki. That jerk.

With resolve and fire in his eyes, Hisoka moved away from the window -completely forgetting his discarded book- and set off to Tsuzuki's house. A quick glance at the evening sun fading at his back told him he'd been lamenting by himself for at least 15 minutes. Watari would have had enough time to translocate to Tsuzuki's place by now, and if Hisoka moved quickly, he'd catch them both unawares.

A grim frown came over his face at the reminder of their abnormal behavior.

Something was going on between those two. He didn't know what, but he was definitely going to find out. And when he did, he'd put a stop to it. Once and for all.

Part II: The Interrogation

Tsuzuki stood in his bedroom, alone, with his arms crossed as he surveyed the horrible mess in front of him. Watari had been no help with straightening out his bedroom. In fact, his best friend had just made the whole thing worse, and had made the mess even bigger.

Much to his protest, Watari had brought along one of his gadgets, "Pick-Me-Up-kun", claiming it would do wonders and make it easier to de-clutter the place. But nothing had been safe from Watari's "newest" invention. It had malfunctioned and the explosion had caused the place to be overturned. Luckily, none of the house's walls or windows had been damaged, but he couldn't say for sure about his stuff.

And even though the blond had vehemently insisted, Tsuzuki had turned down all of his offers to stay behind and help. It was for the best. He was already stressed and he didn't want to end up taking it out on his friend should the feeling get worse.

Tsuzuki rubbed his hands together. Well, there wasn't much he could do about the mess now that it had happened. He'd just have to clean everything up by himself. He had to get all this done by tomorrow if he wanted his plan to work out. And to do that, he'd have to start. Right now.

He tossed jackets, scarves, shirts, and slacks over his arm, rushed to drop them in a pile near the bed, and dashed back for more. His method of cleaning really wasn't that organized, but after a while, a few spots of carpet were beginning to become visible. He was getting somewhere, but all that lifting and carrying in the stuffy bedroom was starting to make him feel a little heated.

He had just unbuttoned and untucked his shirt when the doorbell rang. At first, he didn't hear it. He was already pressed for time and the more stuff he came across; the more hopeless his efforts seemed. He continued to ignore it, until the constant buzzing finally cut through his moment of hysterics and panic.

It was a struggle, he realized to not just cry in frustration right then and there. Even his body seemed tense, because it was all he could do to swallow down the bubble of laughter that seemed to swell up in his chest. And for the life of him, he couldn't remember the deep breathing exercises his sister had taught him when he had learned to dance all those years ago.

"Maybe I need a break," he said to himself. The sound of his voice was tight and nervy, but he couldn't be sure with the doorbell buzzing in his ears like a swarm of angry bees.

"Alright, I'm coming!" he yelled, dropping the large ball of clothes he'd gathered in his arms and stepping over them. He was so intent on rushing to the door that he didn't see the vagrant shoe in the hallway until he'd tripped over it.

"Damn," he muttered, rubbing his head as he got to his feet again. But the doorbell just kept on ringing.

"I'm coming! Hold your horses, would you?" Feeling a little frustrated and under pressure, Tsuzuki kicked the shoe out of sight. Whoever it was at the door, he'd just quickly get rid of them and then deal with the more recent mess he'd created for himself.

Taking a breath, and hoping the smile on his face didn't look too forced, Tsuzuki jerked open the door and stared. "Hisoka?" He blinked down at the blond owlishly. Hisoka was the last person he had expected to see on his doorstep. "What are you doing here?"

Hisoka gave a quick survey of the tussled hair, the heavy breathing, the unbuttoned shirt that seemed to hang on those broad shoulders. The first thought that came to mind at the sight was that he'd interrupted them having sex. "I was checking out a used bookstore nearby and thought I'd stop by."

Tsuzuki's eyebrows quickly inverted down into a frown. "Bookstore? But there isn't one in the area." He would know. He'd lived in this very house for nearly 30 years. His eyes narrowed further, and he studied the blond before him suspiciously. "What are you really doing here, Hisoka? It's not like you to come here without a reason." He folded his arms, effectively blocking the doorway so Hisoka couldn't worm his way through.

Crap, why did Tsuzuki decide to be introspective now of all times? Hisoka raced his brain for an excuse, some rational reason for his out-of-the-blue visit. "Tatsumi asked me to stop by to make sure you finished today's paperwork. You need to turn it in tomorrow."

"Tatsumi told you to come here?" Tsuzuki still looked skeptical, but he lowered his arms. Bingo. Looks like Tsuzuki really didn't finish his work before leaving Meifu. A win in Hisoka's book. Now if only he could get past him…

"Yeah." Hisoka nodded, trying to appear casual as he angled his head. But his eyes were hot and searching as he looked over Tsuzuki's shoulder. Where was Watari? Was he still in the bedroom? "You wouldn't be doing anything that would keep you from finishing it on time would you?"

"No, of course not."

"Good. Then you won't mind if I come inside for a bit, right?" He asked, not waiting for Tsuzuki to answer as he nudged the older man out of the way. He didn't bother with the door or taking off his shoes as he proceeded into the house, stopping only when a bewildered Tsuzuki caught up with him in the living room.

"You rearranged the furniture. The couch was on the other side of the room the last time I was here," he commented, eyeing the place with mild interest. He sat down on the couch, sank into the worn leather. Hisoka picked up a paperweight from the coffee table and watched the way the icy white shapes swam inside it as he passed it from one hand to the other. He hadn't missed the way Tsuzuki kept glancing back toward the bedroom.

"Is there something on your mind, Hisoka?" the brunet asked, twisting his hands together anxiously.

Yeah, the potential murder of a certain blond scientist. But Hisoka just shrugged a shoulder disinterestedly and placed the paperweight back down on the table. "I'm a little thirsty…do you have anything to drink?"

"No, I don't have anything in the fridge." Tsuzuki shook his head. "There is a nice café a few blocks down though."

"Ok, we can go there later, but I'm really thirsty. Water from the tap is fine for now." He stood from the couch when Tsuzuki didn't budge. "Don't trouble yourself; I'll just get it myself." He turned and headed straight for the bedroom.

"Wait, Hisoka. The kitchen is back this way," Tsuzuki began, voice panicked.

Hisoka ground his teeth. He knew exactly where the kitchen was. He knew where everything was in the damn house and if Watari was in that bedroom, he'd soon discover that Hisoka had already made prior claim.

"Wait," Tsuzuki tried again, caught hold of his arm. But Hisoka was moving too fast and he ended up tripping over his legs and being half-dragged along with him. "I'll get you some water. Just please, stay out of the-"

But it was too late. Tsuzuki let out a frustrated groan and released his hold on the other's arm as Hisoka burst open the bedroom door, strode over the threshold, and stopped dead.

Part III: Moment of Truth

Looking at the scene now, Tsuzuki knew it was really embarrassing. He had always been a little messy, leaving the occasional stray shirt or candy wrapper around…but he'd never made a mess to this degree. Clothes were everywhere-on the bed, on the floor and the stuffed animals he'd acquired over the years looked like they'd been thrown around the room haphazardly. There were a few piles that he had managed to make, but overall it looked, he realized, like the gods of chaos had come in on a tornado and turned his bedroom upside down. He wouldn't be surprised if Hisoka went into shock.

"What happened in here?" Hisoka asked, whirling around with wide eyes. This wasn't the kind of thing he had expected to walk in on and now that he had-he didn't know what to think.

A few nervous bubbles of laughter tickled at Tsuzuki's throat. He barely managed to swallow them down, but his voice wavered dangerously- threatening to break at any moment. "I, well…I was just sorta…um…reorganizing?"

The look Hisoka sent him was just so dry and unimpressed, so completely Hisoka, that it caused Tsuzuki to let go of his small ounce of control. Holding onto his stomach, he stumbled to the bed and collapsed onto it in hoots of laughter. Rolling his eyes, Hisoka reached down to pick up one of Tsuzuki's dress shirts from the ground. It was impossibly wrinkled and had a jelly stain on the right front side.

"You call this 'reorganizing'?" he asked, wrinkling his nose at it before tossing it at his partner's head.

It landed on the side of Tsuzuki's face, and the distraction was enough to cause his laughter to recede into sporadic giggles. "Yeah, well," he chuckled, putting it aside, "That was the point initially." He waved a hand, invited the blond over to higher ground.

Hisoka trudged through the clutter and got onto the bed easily. He preferred this spot to standing in the muck of it all. "So what happened medially?"

Tsuzuki smiled and shook his head. "Watari."

Hisoka couldn't help the way his shoulders stiffened at hearing their coworker's name. For a moment, he had forgotten his whole reason for even coming to Tsuzuki's house. "What did Watari do?"

"He was supposed to help me go through all off this and sort it out," Tsuzuki answered, reclining back so that he could look up at the ceiling. "I've accumulated a lot of stuff over the last one-hundred years and I realized that I can't keep holding onto it all anymore. But Watari brought over some invention of his and well…" He gave a helpless shrug. "I was hoping to be done by tomorrow, but I don't think that'll happen now."

Oh. So that's the reason Watari came over. Hisoka took a deep breath; let his shoulders sag in relief.

"You look surprised. What'd you think it was about?" Tsuzuki flashed him a grin and shoved himself up into a lopsided sitting position. The action caused his shirt to slide partially off his shoulders, opening fully to reveal a broad chest and lean stomach.

The very sight made every muscle in Hisoka's body groan. How was it possible that someone could be so attractive without even trying? "Y-you're mistaken," he said quickly, turning his flushed face away. "But why did you suddenly need to take on all of this now?" he asked, stretching his arms out to encompass the room. "It seems like it'd be more trouble than it's worth."

"Well, there's a reason I wanted to have it all done by tomorrow," Tsuzuki began carefully. He turned his head just a little, studied the blond with a sidelong glance. "Tomorrow is that day. The three-year anniversary from when we came back from Kyoto."

Predictably, Hisoka's head snapped around. "It's not what you think," he clarified, forestalling any concerned questions from the blond. "Don't worry; I'm not beating myself over what happened then or anything. I'm not planning on doing anything stupid either. I'm just trying to explain how I feel, okay?" Relaxing, but still wary, Hisoka nodded. "I've just decided that I wanted to make a change for myself. If I can let go of all this material stuff, then maybe I can start moving forward. Let go of all the memories I've hung onto from my past."

Hisoka was still hesitant, but he pressed his lips together and considered all that Tsuzuki had told him. "What made you decide that you were ready for a change?"

The answer was easy, "You."

"What?"

"Without you by my side, I wouldn't have gathered up the courage to try," Tsuzuki said quietly. "I would have just accepted myself as a lost cause and given up. But you…you never gave up on me. You encouraged me, kicked my ass when I needed it." He gave the blond's shoulder a playful nudge. "You were always beside me through it all. I don't want to hold you back with all my insecurities and fears. I want to be someone who is worthy enough to walk beside you."

"But you already are," is what Hisoka wanted to say. He would have said it too, if not for the look Tsuzuki used to cut him off with. One that was patiently obliging.

Well, then. If Tsuzuki didn't want him to talk, then fine. He'd just have to do the only thing he could do.

Wordlessly, Hisoka got up from the bed. Once his feet hit the floor, he knelt down, and began picking up the clothes. If Tsuzuki was set on doing this then Hisoka would see it through with him.

"Uh…Hisoka?" Tsuzuki asked, watching as the blond draped each item casually over his arm. "What are you doing?"

"Cleaning."

A cock of the head. "I see that. But why?"

"You have a deadline, right? I want to help you meet it." Hisoka rose to his feet, turned, and looked at him. "I think if we work together, we can get it done."

"You'll help me?" Tsuzuki was staring up at him with big, hopeful eyes, like he couldn't decide between whether or not he should hug him or worship him.

Flustered now, Hisoka opened his mouth, then closed it again before finally deciding on, "Well, yeah..."

Tsuzuki got up to walk to him, ran his hand down the length of the blond's back when he hugged him. "Thank you, Hisoka. You really are the best."

If it weren't for the clothes Hisoka was holding in his arms, they'd be chest to chest. But the clothes didn't hinder Tsuzuki from being able to press his mouth against Hisoka's ear and whisper, "I don't know how I can ever repay you."

The warm air whispering at his ear was distracting, but not as distracting as the close-up view he had of Tsuzuki's naked neck and shoulders. The brunet's shirt had slipped further down, making a large portion of Tsuzuki's upper back visible.

Hisoka imagined sliding his hand there, just over where that line of cotton met newly revealed skin. Just under it. "You can," he swallowed, "by keeping Watari-san out of your bedroom."

Tsuzuki grinned, "Deal." He eased back, tipped Hisoka's face up to look at him. "Besides, you're the only one I want taking over my bed." He winked and it was enough to make blond's pulse skyrocket.

"We-We're wasting time," Hisoka said gruffly, pulling back. He needed to put some distance between them before he ended up doing something embarrassing. Like kiss him.

He stepped around the brunet, effectively avoiding eye contact as he laid the clothes neatly on the bed. "Let's get to work."

"Okay." Tsuzuki nodded, adjusting his shirt before starting to gather up the clothes. He was still smiling, and from the glint in those purple eyes, Hisoka decided that the brunet was perfectly aware of his reaction to him.

That cocky idiot, Hisoka snorted to himself as he smoothed his hands over the clothes once and turned back around to gather up some more.

Today had been full of surprises and he'd found that he had a lot to learn when it came to jumping to conclusions.

Turning his head slightly, Hisoka snuck a glance at his partner's back. At least his rushing in hadn't been a total disaster. It had actually helped to bring them closer.

He knew it had taken a lot for Tsuzuki to make such a big decision. The moment the brunet had confided in him, Hisoka had decided that he'd do all he could to support him.

The blond shook his head at that, and a rare smile tugged at his lips. It seemed that Tsuzuki wasn't the only one who changed. Being around the brunet for so long had made Hisoka go all soft and sentimental.

Well, he supposed it could be worse. If being in love meant that he was a walking cliché then so be it. He was already in too deep and as long as he could stay with Tsuzuki, then that was all that mattered.

Hisoka turned back to his task and he continued to work alongside Tsuzuki until late into the night, finishing sometime early in the morning. Tsuzuki met his deadline and Hisoka agreed to spend the night. He didn't remember his book until he woke up the next day.

End.

AN: I think I may have abused the italics a bit. Sorry about that. XD (Poor Eria and general zargon had to endure my constant harassment on this story.) And like every story I write, this thing became its own monster. It was supposed to be like 4 pages at the most, but it quickly became more than that. Hopefully y'all enjoyed it. :)