Well, it was bound to happen sometime: another piece of Yami no Matsuei fluff to tickle your fangirlish-or boyish-fancies. This one is very run-of-the-mill, just another day in the afterlife. But it's cute. Cute is good.

Disclaimer: Space spiders spring, spinning spectacularly. Just wanted to make sure you were actually reading the disclaimer. I know I don't.

If you're new to the neighborhood, this fic does contain malexmale undertones. Well, actually it's pretty obvious, but you get my drift. If you don't like, please leave and don't let the door hit you on the way out. Save a flame.

Coffee Break

It was finished.

Tatsumi looked down at the stack of paperwork that had bogged him down for the past three days. Morning and night, the diligent secretary had hewn through them like a new lawn mower through a field of foot-tall grass. Ironically, the pile of papers was roughly that thick. Of course, he had Tsuzuki to thank for them-he had an irritating habit of conveniently forgetting to turn in his paperwork at the most crucial times. This particular load dated back to the previous August, approximately four months ago.

But none of that mattered now: it was finished.

Smiling contently, Tatsumi placed his pen into its case, the tip worn down from its signing spree and ran his fingers through his hair, shifting the russet locks from their usual neat style. He was quite pleased with himself, especially since he had gotten finished before the day was out. This meant that he had time for something that he hadn't had for weeks: a coffee break. He rose from his chair and pushed it in, reached for his favorite coffee mug that had been faithfully waiting on his bookshelf, and examined it. It had gathered specks of dust on the lip, and a tiny spider had taken up residence on a web cleverly spun in the handle. He gently removed the little creature and rubbed the dust and the cobweb away; his rare good mood had spared its life. The spider appeared to realize this and scuttled away as fast as its tiny legs could carry it into the space between a pair of books.

Tatsumi's favorite time of the day was-or rather, had been-his coffee break. However, ever since characters like Tsuzuki had moved into the Meifu (his mind immediately wandered to Watari-he had a tendency of doing that lately), his allotted time for that activity had been rerouted to completing extra paperwork. True, Tatsumi hadn't had a real, honest-to-goodness coffee break in which nobody else existed but him and his cup of liquid caffeine for a looong while. The closest he had gotten recently was the week before, which consisted of a two-minute interval between fixing his tie and rushing to work; it had been a close shave-Watari's alarm clock was a bit disagreeable. Moments like that had become as near to a coffee break as he got, nowadays. Since it had, indeed, been so long, the secretary decided to enjoy every minute by walking instead of teleporting to the lounge, as had been his tradition before.

He first passed Tsuzuki and Hisoka's work area, which was the usual scene: the boy working with nearly the same level of fervor as himself (which was a bit disturbing in a boy of his age) and the other…staring. 'At least he isn't sleeping,' Tatsumi thought to himself.

"Good morning, Tatsumi-san. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, Kurosaki-kun. I'm just taking my coffee break." The boy's startling green eyes widened a bit.

"Really?" Was it that shocking? "I'm glad to see that you got the idiot's crap done. RIGHT, Tsuzuki?" The surprised look on Tsuzuki's face was priceless as he was snapped out of his daydream: of what, Tatsumi couldn't imagine. However, by the quickly reddening blush on his cheeks, he could take an educated guess.

"W-wha? Oh, sorry, Hisoka! Hehehe…" A paperweight struck the lazy Shinigami straight between his wide purple eyes, and fake tears poured from them. "Mouu, 'Soka-chaaan! You're so mean!"

"Yeah? Well, being nice never got anything out of you! Now, start working!" Sighing, the secretary backed out of the office and shut the door; he would be of no welcome here anymore. He resumed his walk down the hallway, humming a tune under his breath and looking around for another familiar face. Around the corner walked Wakaba, who was carrying a rather large box, steam and a very pleasant aroma rising from inside. She seemed quite pleased with herself, her face beaming with a pretty smile and her wavy hair bouncing with her strides.

"Good afternoon, Wakaba-chan. Cooking today?" She looked up at Tatsumi and her smile grew a bit, her mismatched eyes crinkling upward along with it.

"Hai, it's Hajime's birthday today, and…well, I wanted to do something nice for him." This didn't surprise Tatsumi; Wakaba was ALWAYS doing something nice for somebody. For example, two years ago he had quit trying to guess who was leaving cupcakes on the corner of his desk every Monday, it had become so obvious.

"Ah. I'm sure he'll enjoy it." She giggled and nodded, a pink blush tinting her cheeks.

"I hope so. He'd better; I spent all week trying to find this recipe. See ya!" The young girl resumed her walk to Terazuma's desk, and Tatsumi his stroll to the lounge, which was just around the corner.

When he finally arrived, the happy endorphins in his mind did back flips. He raised his cup and walked to the coffee machine, which shone like a stainless steel beacon through a murky night. Somehow, he could hardly believe that he was ACTUALLY having a proper coffee break. It simply seemed too good to be true. Fortunately, it wasn't.

He couldn't have been more horribly wrong.

The coffee maker was empty, save for a couple of drops at the very bottom that, to his starved mind, seemed to be glinting at him maliciously. The rich aroma lingered in the air, teasing Tatsumi's sense of smell mercilessly. The smile melted from his face, replaced by a look of panic, and he began opening the small cabinets above the table frantically, to no avail: the coffee tin was empty as well, the remaining grains rattling inside. Even the Chief's special blend, which he had admittedly swiped from in times of great need, was completely depleted. His jaw dropped-this wasn't fair. Who deserved a nice, fresh, warm cup of black heaven more than he? Nobody. And it was HIM who was going without. It simply wasn't right.

"You couldn't possibly be looking for this, could you?" The spastic secretary started as a warm and all-too-familiar voice reached his ear from behind him, the silky undertones sending a shiver down his spine. "Here. Have a good coffee break."

"Wa…" He turned around and, sure enough, there was his scientist, grinning boyishly and leaned against a lounge chair, the cup of coffee cradled in his pale fingers. The corners of Tatsumi's mouth turned up in a slow smile.

"I wanted to make sure you got some, so…well, I got you some. It's been on the Bunsen burner for a good two hours; I wasn't sure if you'd ever come and get it." Chuckling softly, he took it from Watari and glanced down to look into his golden eyes; they seemed to be laughing along with him.

"Thank you." The blonde began to snicker, and the secretary raised a thin eyebrow. "What's so funny all of a sudden?"

"You should have seen yourself: hunting around for the coffee like a madman. I swear, I thought you were going to hyperventilate." Tatsumi's eye twitched and he pushed his glasses up on his nose.

"I was NOT about to hyperventilate. You're exaggerating." The blonde shook his head and giggled, wrapping his arms around Tatsumi's neck. Bringing his lips up to the secretary's ear, he whispered softly.

"Yes, you were." Before he could retort, the scientist tenderly placed his mouth over the secretary's, and he rolled his eyes before kissing back.

There was no point in arguing.

-owari