And here is the talk between Tachibana-san and Hotsuma. It took me a while to put this together since our favorite stubborn character didn't want to cooperate. I had to rewrite the second half a few times because it is hard to convince Hotsuma to be reasonable LOL

Lizz1792: Shusei is a good person - that's why he is my favorite character. And because he is he is able to bring out the best in Hotsuma. Together they are unstoppable. I won't give anything away about the girl yet, surprise ;-)

Fireblaze1807: Thank you :-) And I don't think I will let Hotsuma get away with just a kiss. Fanfiction is also about smut and heck, I do love it LOL

ExpectoPotato: Interesting idea! I have to admit I never even thought about this combination but it does make sense. They're both very gentle and protective characters so they could find comfort in each other. Maybe something to give Hotsuma a hard time with ;-)

yuumon: Thank you! Sairi always seems to be a good fit to upset Hotsuma but I do also think that he is more than just a tease. There's more to him than this little story will allow to explore but for now I will let Sairi play the bad cop :-)

KitKat3195: A jealous Hotsuma is always something I love to explore. He is so bad at hiding his true emotions but he is completely oblivious at how bad he really is which only adds to the fun. And there will be an M rated chapter :-)

Abby Keeper: Thank you! And I hope you will enjoy the next chapter.

Thank you everyone for following my story and adding it to his/her favorites. It means a lot!

The mansion was quiet. Apparently, everybody had gone up to their rooms already to retreat for the night. He went to the library only to find it empty.

I must have been out for a while then, Hotsuma thought.

Usually, everybody would go to the library after dinner to play board games, chat or simply hang out before going to bed. Sometimes, Hotsuma and Shusei would skip those gatherings to be alone with themselves in Shusei's room. They would sit at the window, letting in some fresh night's air while gazing at the stars. The sky above the mansion was always clear. Hotsuma supposed that it was because the mansion was a magic place, shielded from the rest of the world by a barrier only those with special permission could pass.

Only that those times when they would be sitting together in Shusei's room had been getting fewer and fewer since Ashley.

Hotsuma frowned. Ashley - this wasn't just an opast's name, it was the beginning of a new era. Everything had been turned upside down since then. And the more he thought about this the harder it became for him to understand. Shusei had wanted to die, he had been rescued and they had talked, promising each other to never run away from each other again. The outcome couldn't have had been better.

So there wasn't supposed to be a problem, was it?

It made him want to scream for being such a failure. Had he been pushing Shusei away because he hadn't been trying hard enough? Or maybe he had been trying too hard? But Shusei hadn't never said anything that would prove either one so there was no way for him to tell.

Hotsuma shook his head. This was confusing the hell out of him. What was he supposed to do?

"Hard day, hm?" Tachibana-san's voice cut through his thoughts, bringing his attention back to the present situation. Hotsuma jerked his head into the direction the voice had come from and looked into a genuinely concerned face. Completely lost in thoughts, he hadn't heard him entering.

His first impulse was to brush the remark off but then he hesitated. This was Tachibana-san after all. They were alone in the library and he didn't have to pretend. He hadn't really noticed before that he had been restless the whole afternoon ever since Shusei had left to go to the police station but then again, being edgy was his second nature. It took someone like Tachibana-san to pull him out and give him an opportunity to unwind.

"Yes." He simply answered, releasing a sigh that carried all the anger out of him. What was left was a heavy feeling of exhaustion.

"Why don't you have a seat then? I have prepared some tea for us."

The master of the mansion vanished and Hotsuma sat down on the leather coach, letting himself sink in deeply. He wasn't a big fan of tea but today, he thought it would actually be nice to drink a cup.

The door opened and Tachibana-san was back with a tray. He put it down on the small coffee table in front of them and began to pour a cup for each. The scent of jasmine filled the room. When he was done he sat down in the big chair opposite from Hotsuma, legs crossed and sipping his tea carefully.

They didn't speak for a couple of minutes and the silence was a welcomed balm for Hotsuma's mind. Being constantly wired was a side effect of his zweilt powers that allowed him to wield fire but it came with a price. He was short-tempered and easy to provoke most of the time. It was a good thing in battle since it gave him strength and stamina but outside of the battlefield it could be hindering when there were more soft skills required. Not that he didn't have any though. Those who knew him well had seen them but it was on rare occasions that these traits would see the light of day since his prideful temper usually nip them in the bud right away.

Tachibana-san was the first to speak.

"I remember the both of you when you first came to this mansion." He smiled into his tea from the memory. "Shusei-kun wouldn't want to leave his room at first and the only time he would was when you took his hand and showed him around."

Hotsuma couldn't help but smile either. The big house had scared his friend to no end and the only place where he felt safe was in their room. Hotsuma, on the other hand, couldn't wait to explore their new home so it took some persuasion and the promise to not let go of his hand while they would be on the stroll. He had made sure to stay true to his words and they had conquered every square inch of the mansion together.

Suddenly, he missed the touch of Shusei's fingers around his.

The thought let his heart grow heavy in his chest. He stared into his tea cup as if to find the answer there.

Sighing, he put his cup down and looked into Tachibana-san's friendly and familiar face.

"We aren't kids anymore, Tachibana-san." There wasn't a trace of anger in his voice when he said it, he just felt tired and… incredibly sad. Back then, everything had seemed so simply and the first month they had spent together in the mansion were a memory he treasured greatly. He would even go so far and say that they had been happy and untroubled. But no matter how much he wished those time would come back it wasn't going to happen. These feelings laid in the past.

Somehow, the older man sensed his thoughts because a wistful smile appeared on his face and he nodded slowly.

"Hm… " He trailed off, spoon stirring in the teacup. "But there is no reason why you two can't be happy again." Tachibana-san put the spoon back on the saucer, looking at him fatherly.

Hotsuma placed his own cup on the table in front of him before he buried his face in his hands, his elbows resting on his knees.

Oh, how he wished that would be true!

Saying that he felt both help- and hopeless would be an understatement.

"I don't know what to do anymore." He said into his hands suddenly, not wanting to look at the master of the mansion in the moment of his defeat. All this time, he had never talked to anybody about this but doing so felt like a heavy weight had just been lifted from his shoulders.

When he lifted his head after a few minutes of silence, he met Tachibana-san's eyes and to his surprise, he found him smiling at him.

"Don't give up just yet. Since when do you get scared off by a little obstacle? It's so unlike you."

The unguarded comment didn't miss its mark.

"I'm NOT scared!" Hotsuma jumped up only to sit down again the next second, sternly reminding himself to keep it together. "I am not scared." He repeated, calmer this time but precise nonetheless.

"So why did you run away then?" Tachibana-san scooted forward in his chair, curiously.

Hotsuma snorted. He knew well enough that his behavior had been childish at best so why did he have to dwell on it? But something in the look of Tachibana-san's face told Hotsuma that he wasn't going to give up so easily.

"Was it because of the girl that Shusei was with?"

Before Hotsuma could even reply consciously, he was up on his feet again, almost falling over the couch table from the momentum.

"Why would I be upset because of this? This is ridiculous!" He barked loudly at the older man who was watching him calmly.

"I see." Tachibana-san leaned back in his chair, his whole demeanor serene. He took a sip from his tea.

Why is he so calm about all of this? The older man's display of coolness only irked him even more. Whatever composure there had been left, it was all out of the window by the time Tachibana-san put his cup back on the saucer.

"What does that mean, I see? Are you saying that I'm jealous of that girly brat?" Hotsuma clenched his fists but he wasn't going to give in to that suffocating feeling of fear in his chest that threatened to crush him. He would fight it with all he had, he wasn't weak. He was not jealous and he would be damned if he was going to act like some love sick fool.

"And? Are you?" Tachibana-san asked, unfazed.

Hotsuma stared at the master of the mansion, incredulously. What was wrong with this man?

"NO! I. Am. Not. JEALOUS!" He was all but screaming back at him now.

But all Tachibana-san did was waving his hand to shush him.

"You are going to wake up the whole house and besides, you are the one who brought it up yourself." The man could barely hide a smile.

Hotsuma growled, his hand running through his hair in an attempt to calm down enough to sit back on the couch. The man had waited for him to come home and made tea in order to have a conversation. It would be impolite to not give it a try, even Hotsuma could see that. It wasn't that he didn't have any manners, they just tended to draw the short side of the stick when his temper got involved.

He raised his hands in defeat and sat back down, crossing and then uncrossing his legs again. Why was it so hard to sit still?

"The only advise I can give you," Tachibana-san ventured on, "is to talk to Shusei."

That was the dumbest thing Hotsuma had ever heard. As if he hadn't tried that before.

"But that doesn't work!" He let his frustration show.

"And I can clearly see why." The older man sighed, shaking his head in obvious resignation.

If there had been a spark missing that would have been needed to ignite the fire, well, here it was. Hotsuma was propelled out of his seat by an invisible but strong force, raising his fist toward the ceiling and started his tirade before the rational part of his brain could stop him.

"Are you saying it's all my fault? This is… is… pr- preposterous!" Words were stumbling out of his mouth without thinking. "Why does everyone think I haven't been trying? I HAVE, FOR GOD'S FUCKING SAKE!" Panting from the sudden outburst of rage, he tried to compose himself.

But he couldn't control it for the life of him. Not anymore. The entire day, what had happened earlier, it was just too much. The one drop that caused the dam to break. It just had fallen.

"I am NOT an idiot despite what everybody else might think. I have tried so many times since we got him back but there's this fucking wall in my head and I can't get past it. And with each time it gets harder and harder." His fingers raked through his already messy hair, indicating his desperation if anything else. "He is slipping away from me, Tachibana-san. And the more I try the more distant he becomes and it's FREAKING ME OUT."

He hadn't noticed that the older man had stood up but a gentle touch on his arm brought him out of his reverie. Tachibana-san's face was concerned but Hotsuma could also see compassion in it.

"Has it ever occurred to you that it is you that is distancing from Shusei and not the other way around?"

Hotsuma's mouth dropped open rather ungracefully.

"That's ridiculous!" He huffed, crossing his arms in front of him and staring down at the man. But something had struck a cord because he hesitated to retort back. What if what Tachibana-san had just said was true?

And now that he thought about it, Shusei had never done anything to make him feel as if he wasn't welcome. It had always been himself that would leave the room when it was time to go to sleep. Realization, clear as day, dawned on him and he felt a little sick in his stomach when it actually sank in.

Oh my God, you're such an idiot, Hotsuma! No wonder Shusei would seek out the company of a stupid girl because, clearly, he himself, his best friend and partner, was pushing him away. Not that Hotsuma would so such thing on purpose, nothing was further from his mind but of course Shusei couldn't know, not after all he had been through. Had he really been that naive and thought that everything would be forgiven and forgotten once and for all after one talk?

He let himself fall back on the couch, burying his head in his hands.

"I'm so stupid." He muttered. "So, so stupid! Damn!" His foot kicked the table in front of him hard. The sturdy piece of oak furniture didn't move the slightest but the pain that shot through his toe all the way up to his thigh made him yelp a little.

The couch cushion tilted slightly to the right when Tachibana-san sat down next to him, his hand patting his shoulder gently.

"Now, now, come on, don't be too hard with yourself." Hotsuma didn't have to look up in order to see the smile on the man's face.

"I really screwed up, didn't I?" He turned his head to the right, peaking through his fingers only to see his assumption confirmed. Tachibana-san's smile was almost nostalgic.

"You will be forgiven but you shouldn't let him wait. Time is too precious to be wasted with regrets over things that happened in the past." The master of the mansion's face turned serious. "You are made for each other, Hotsuma. No matter which time or body you are in, you two will always be connected deeply and irrevocably. Don't let get anything in the way of that."

Tachibana-san stood and went to the door. Before he left the library he turned around once more.

"Good night, Hotsuma."

"Good night." Hotsuma replied quietly. The door fell shut and he sat in silence, his thought running a marathon in his head. So many scenes were playing before his inner eye, all the little details he had missed earlier so blatantly obvious now. And none of it was in his favor.

He had no idea how long he had been sitting there alone but when his mind was finally slowing down at one point leaden tiredness mantled him. Heaving himself from the couch with a sigh, he buried his hands in his pockets and went upstairs.

When he came to a halt in front of the door that led to Shusei's room he fought down the trepidation that made his heart lurch in his chest and his stomach churn. What if it was too late this time? What if Shusei did have enough of his temper tantrums and rough charm? What if…

"Enough." He scolded himself quietly. Instead of letting his fears get to him, he had to cling to the words Tachibana-san had said to him earlier. Oh, he wanted to believe them so badly that his hands turned into fists, his fingernails piercing into his palms. When the pain became perceptible he released his fists, exhaling slowly.

That was when he made up his mind.

The other half of Shusei's bed was waiting for him and he would be damned if he let his partner down this time.

I am still not convinced that it came out good but at this point I didn't want to torture poor Hotsuma (and myself) any longer ;-) Please forgive me for eventual out of characterness. Next chapter will be Hotsuma spending the night in Shusei's bed. No lemon, folks - at least, not yet ;-)