Right, running low on ideas here. But I'm not quite ready to start the next 'book' or whatever you want to call it so here are a bunch of shorts. These are mostly stories I wanted to do but didn't have enough to work from to turn them into real chapters. Enjoy!

jennamarie: Yeah, I wanted to make Neina a weird kind of bi-polar drunk that spouts out random things she's thinking. Those are the fun ones, as long as they're latched onto anyone else! Your mom sounds interesting…almost like those mother in laws on sitcoms…And yeah for fluff!!! More fluff here now!! And insanity but that springs up everywhere I go so…(shrugs) Enjoy!

laustic: Drunk Neina is pretty popular…Neina is the uber-mom!!! So glad you liked it XD

Hiyami: I'm always hyper, it's kind of my natural state X3 But yeah, that's basically me in a nutshell. Random laughing, creepy smile, the tendency to glomp people while shouting the Xena war cry…its sort of a daily ritual now. Random favorite line.

DerangedandLovinIt: I love your name!!! XD Why didn't I think of that?! Anyway, I'm glad the drunk scene made you happy. It seems to make a lot of people happy. Maybe I should bring drunk Neina back one day. Are mother/son drinking sessions in practice? (I'm a girl, son/anything is a bit beyond me)

Have fun and SUGGEST stuff!!! My inspiration is lost and since it can be considered a weapon of mass disruption we may never find it!

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1) Memory Lane

"So this is a time capsule all of you buried almost twenty-five years ago?" Hisoka asked as they set the large metal box on the table. He and the others had been invited over to his parents apartment a couple of days after his mother's birthday party to help them go through the time capsule.

"Yep! We uncovered it on the twenty year marker like we all agreed but without Neina and Hokuto there it didn't feel right to open it." Kelton swiped again at the layer of dust over their names and smiled.

"Does that mean you never would've opened if I hadn't turned up?" Neina asked. "I mean, you already technically had Hokuto so—"

"I was asleep as a plusie though, remember? Hell if I knew what was going on around me."

"Oh, yeah…You made a cute plushie though. I should've taken some pictures…"

"And I would've destroyed them and eaten the negatives," he said darkly.

"This is a neat idea," Watari said as he looked over the tin trunk. "Maybe we should do something like this. Lord knows we'd have all eternity to dig it up and bury it again."

"You're welcome to the case after we open it," Runa said. "I think this is the only one we'll do. I don't really need to be reminded of the passing years."

"Does it really bother you that much?" Neina asked.

"Not really. But it will eventually I imagine." She smiled wanly.

"Got it!" They all looked up to see Kelton holding the broken remains of the lock in his hands.

"Kelton, why'd you break it?"

He flushed a little as he let the pieces fall. "I, uh, lost the key…about fifteen years ago."

The other three burst out laughing. "You? Mr. Responsible? Mr. 'Give me the key, the rest of you will lose it?'" Hokuto laughed.

"Did I say that?"

"Yes, you did. Hypocrite."

Runa patted his back in consolation, though it was obvious she was still giggling on the inside.

"Let's just open it already. I can't really remember what we put in here…"

Everyone, including the members of the ministry, gathered around as he lifted the lid.

"Looks like we put in a lot junk are what we put in," Hokuto said blandly.

"No kidding," Tsuzuki said. "What is this stuff?" He reached in and pulled out a slightly smaller box. Opening he titled his head when he saw obsidian earrings shaped like teardrops.

"Oh! My mother's earrings!" Runa took the box from him with a smile. "I'd forgotten I'd put those in there. I thought I'd lost them. And there's my first wand! I remember it broke on that mission before we buried this."

"And here's the first paper I wrote in medical school," Kelton said as he picked an old binder up. "I was pretty proud of this one. That teacher was tough but I managed a B+."

"Ooh!" Watari suddenly groped his hand into the box and pulled out a stuffed bird, all bright colors and plush material. "Whose is this?"

Neina looked up from browsing through Kelton's paper (and understanding nothing). Her eyes widened at the bird. "Kotori?!" She lunged and plucked the stuffed animal from the scientist's grasp. "It is Kotori! Oh my gods!!" She laughed and cuddled the bird close with a child like glee. Everyone was staring, some with mouths slightly agape. She colored a little under their gaze before pouting. "What? You act like you've never seen a woman cuddle a stuffed parrot before."

"That's because we haven't," Tsuzuki said. "I take it that one's yours?"

"Yeah. But I didn't put him in here. So how…" Hokuto didn't look at her which she noticed immediately. "Hokuto!! You put him in there?!"

He grinned and held up his hands in placation. "Now, beloved, keep in mind we were young then…"

"I was young. You were 19. And you put my Kotori in a box that we buried!!"

"It was a stuffed bird!! I figured you'd want to let go of it and grow up!"

"It's a stuffed bird my grandmother made me! The only thing I got from her before she died! And I thought I was the one that lost him!!" Everyone froze and winced at that.

Hokuto was quiet before he spoke softly. "I'm sorry, love. I didn't know that. If I had I wouldn't have taken him or put him in there."

Neina relaxed a little, the anger in her eyes dulling. "It's alright," she sighed. "I just can't believe you actually took him and put him in there."

"Well, in all fairness, it was retaliation for showing the photo album my mother entrusted to you to everyone at HQ."

"Oh yeah," she laughed. "I feel better now. But I was getting you back for stealing my shirt from the locker room."

"Were you guys really that vindictive when you were younger?" Hisoka couldn't help but ask. It was hard to imagine his parents doing all those things to each other out of spite when he considered how lovey dovey they were now.

"Oh yeah. We hated each other when we first met."

"Well, hates rather strong love. I mean, I didn't hate you."

Neina blinked and looked at him. "You didn't?"

"Nope. In fact I always thought you were pretty cute. I just liked to tease you."

"Oh…" she blushed and fiddled with the stuffed birds wings a little. "O-okay then. I didn't hate you either, you know." He smiled and curled his fingers in hers.

"So what did you put in here, mom?"

Neina jerked back to the present and looked over the edge of the box. "Ah…well here's a group photo we all took that I framed…and I put this cat statue in for Newt and…Schroeder's monocle?"

"I put that in," Kelton said. "He's probably still wondering what happened to it."

"What's this?" Tsuzuki had picked up what looked like an old Kabuki mask with long black hair.

"A cursed mask." He dropped it and wiped his hand across the front of his shirt. "It's not cursed anymore," she laughed.

"Yeah, it was purified when we sent the spirit inside it to the other side," Runa supplied.

"Still creepy though…" Hokuto muttered.

"And here's one of Captain's knives!" Neina breathed. "Wow. I remember when he gave this to me to put in here. I kept asking 'Are you sure?' because I didn't think he'd ever let go of one of his knives."

"Yeah," they all muttered. She smiled sadly and put the knife to the side. She'd hang it up later.

"What else do we have in here?"

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2) Quiet moment

Tsuzuki opened one amethyst eye blearily and looked around for his clock. 5…pm-ish…on Sunday… He yawned and froze as something in the vicinity of his chest groaned. Letting his eyes trail down he became even tenser when he saw a move of ash blonde hair peaking out from beneath his duvet. Gulping quietly he carefully pulled the coverlet back. Hisoka's sleeping face came into view as the coverlet was slipped down to the top of his back.

Hisoka?! What-when-why (not that I'm complaining)—? When his sleepy mind finally clicked he couldn't repress his smile. That's right. He came over for lunch, which was nice. Then stayed to talk, which was nice. Then talking led to cuddling, which was really nice. Then cuddling led to kissing, which was VERY nice. Then we took a break to cuddle again…and I guess we fell asleep. He looked down at his boyfriend's peaceful face. Flicking one of his silken banes back he smiled and pressed a kiss to his temple.

Hisoka groaned again and cracked open one emerald eye.

"Sorry, did I wake you?"

He blinked before smiling and burrowing further into his embrace. "Yeah…s'okay though. I slept…really good."

"No nightmares?" the elder man asked and began rubbing gentle circle's in the blonde's back.

"No. First peaceful night's sleep in a long time. This is nice too though."

"A back massage?"

"No," he laughed. "Although that's good too. Mmm, little higher Tsu."

He chuckled and complied to ease a knot just below the youth's shoulder blade. A still sleepy, relaxed Hisoka was undeniably sweet. "What then?"

Hisoka sighed, but in a more contented way than he usually did and hid his face in the crook of Tsuzuki's neck. "Waking up with you. S'nice." Tsuzuki's mind went a little fuzzy at the confession and even more fuzzy when he felt lips against his throat in something not quite a kiss but definitely more than a caress.

"Ah, I see. Is that an invitation for me to sleep over?"

THWAK!!!

"Baka!"

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3) Neina's Weakness

Hisoka walked in one morning to find his mother bent over a book as if completely absorbed in what she was reading. That was not unusual. What was unusual was how she suddenly jumped, hiding the book behind her back when he said good morning.

"Ah, uh, good morning Hisoka!"

"Is everything okay, mom?"

"Oh yeah, everything's just fine. I was just, uh…"

"Reading?" He frowned when that seemed to make her blush. "What's wrong? What book are you reading anyway?"

"Nothing! I'm not reading anything at the moment! In fact, I should go to the library to see if they have anything I haven't read yet!" She all but ran out of the room in the completely opposite direction of the library. Hisoka was confused but shrugged it off to stress.

Later however he was met with the same confusing situation in the break room when she hid her book in a nearby drawer and stood in front of it as he entered.

"Mom, why do you keep doing that?"

"Doing what, Hisoka honey?"

"Hiding the book you've been carrying around all day."

"Neina's hiding a book?" Tsuzuki asked as he followed his partner in.

"I'm not hiding anything, and it's definitely not a book," she laughed, although it sounded entirely strained.

"Where'd she hide it?" Tsuzuki asked Hisoka.

"In the drawer she's standing in front of."

"I told you I'm not hiding anything! Hey!" Tsuzuki reached around her and pulled the drawer out. "No!"

"Oh wow!" Tsuzuki laughed as he pulled out the paperback. On the cover was a man in a white shirt with long hair holding a fainting woman in his arms with a back drop of what looked like the French Quarter of New Orleans. The Woman's dress was in ribbons and barely hanging on to her. Hisoka stared at the cover without really meaning too.

"Tsuzuki, give it back!" Neina began chasing him as he flipped through the pages.

"Whoa, this is pretty graphic! 'Heaving bossoms'… 'loins'…huh, I hope he's going to pay for that dress he ripped!"

"Stop it! Give it to me!"

"Oh, you've already gotten that far?"

"Tsuzuki!!!"

Hisoka jumped when he heard laughing and turned his head up to see his father watching the spectacle with barely contained mirth. "I see you've found out your mother's weakness."

"Weakness?"

"Yep. Her weakness for Harlequin Romance Novels."

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4) Coffee

Tatsumi sighed and took off his glasses. It was another long day at the office and he was getting a migraine from poring over the recent files. Pinching the bridge of his nose he breathed deeply and tried to get the images of swimming figures and facts to stop taunting him. He opened his eyes when he heard something settle on his desk.

"I thought you could use a breather," Watari smiled. He turned the ceramic mug so that the handle faced him, hoisting his own with a smile. Tatsumi noticed one of his hands was bandaged from his fingers to his forearm. That was mildly concerning giving what the scientist had a tendency to get himself into.

"Thank you, Watari-san, but—"

"It's mildly caffeinated; enough to get you through this but won't keep you pacing the rest of the night. No sugar, one dash of cream and a pinch of cinnamon."

Tatsumi blinked, looking from the mug to the scientist and back. "How did you…?"

Watari chuckled. "Tatsumi, have you not noticed that I've been bringing you coffee morning and evening, when I catch you that is, for almost 6 years?"

"Of course I noticed! I just…uh…" Tatsumi picked up the mug and brought it up to his lips. "Thank you." Watari just smiled and moved his in a simple toasting gesture.

"To coffee, the only thing that keeps us running some days."

Tatsumi smirked. "That and what awaits us if we don't work."

"You have a dark sense of humor."

"Is that a bad pun?"

"No, a bad pun would be some thing like…what do you call a deer with no eyes?"

The secretary blinked and frowned. "I don't know, what?"

"No eye deer." Tatsumi groaned and shook his head. "I told you it was bad."

"Please tell me you got decaffeinated? I don't want to be kept up all night with your bad jokes."

"My jokes aren't all bad! The one about the sailor and the parrot is a classic."

"I'm sure," he chuckled.

"Hmph. And here I came to see if you needed any help." His eyes softened a little as he looked over his friend and superior. "You work to hard, Siichirou. It's after hours, I can call you that," he said before he could object.

Tatsumi eyes narrowed as he reached out and took up his glasses again. Watari suppressed a disappointed whine. While the glasses were a turn on sometimes, Tatsumi glasses-less was definitely a 10 on the sexy scale. "I could say the same about you, Wata…Yutaka." He eyed the bandages on the other's hand critically.

Watari followed his gaze and smiled ruefully. "Little accident with a sample the Hokkaido girls sent me. Ended up being a rather…volatile mass of energy."

"Are you alright?" Tatsumi reached out and gingerly took the other's hand in his as if to check it over through the bandages. Watari tensed but hid it with the levity of his voice.

"I'm fine. It'll be fully healed by tomorrow morning I'm sure."

The secretary nodded and released his hand, not noticing that the scientist's fingers and almost curled around his. "Alright then. Did you still want to help?"

"Course! I can't do anything more in my lab tonight and I'd like you to get some sleep…in a bed…not slumped over on your desk like a freaking workaholic."

"Fine, just go through these and mark and suspicious claims."

"Yessir."

They worked in a comfortable silence for almost an hour. Watari was just enjoying the company really. He'd been stuck in either his lab or the infirmary all day with no real visitors. Then there was the incident with the sample. He was actually glad no one was around for that. The sample's case had actually broken when, in one of his bouts of clumsiness that he was certain everyone suffered from every now and then courtesy of Mr. Murphy and his little law, he'd actually run into 003 bird perch and fallen backwards to knock it off the table. It had stung when it burned him, quite a lot and he'd lost several layers of skin from the hand. But it was still rather embarrassing and he was glad no one, especially Tatsumi, had seen. Although knowing him he would've had the inclination to play doctor…

And we'll stop that thought there before I get a nosebleed, he thought to himself. Watari perked when he heard a soft whispering sound. Looking up, he grinned wryly when he saw Tatsumi reclined in his chair asleep. The file he'd been looking through was across his lap and his head was tilted back over the top of the chair.

Well it's obvious I'm the only one who was distracted by the only other living…well, the only other person in the room. Watari sighed and got to his feet to walk around the desk. Story of my afterlife. At least when it comes to this one.

"Tatsumi? Tatsumi! Seiichirou! Wake up!" he hissed. The elder man groaned and shifted in his chair. He'll get a neck ache and a back ache if he sleeps here like this. I'd better—

The blonde's train of thought was abruptly cut off when Tatsumi's tongue darted out to moisten his lips. Entranced by the motion he didn't notice as he began to lean in, inch by inch, breath by breath until he was so close to those lips…

"Watari?" Tatsumi's eyes were now cracked open and blinking confusedly at their amber counterparts before him.

The lithe form of the amber eyed man straightened like a lighting rod and almost tipped backward. "I wasn't—you were—we—GO HOME!! You're no use to anyone here that tired if you're falling asleep in your chair!!"

Tatsumi blinked and yawned before standing. "Hm. You may be right. I just finish this in the morning after I've had a good night's sleep."

"Yes, sleep. In your bed." Far far away from me and my unhealthy attraction to your mouth. And your eyes…and hair…and chest…hands…legs…oh, and definitely your as—

"Yes, that sounds good. You should do the same, Watari." Tatsumi, though tired, smiled in a way that had the other man's heart thumping pleasantly hard and quick. "I'd be quite upset if you were to hurt yourself again because you were tired."

"Eh?"

He nodded as he let one of his hands drop to the blondes' shoulder. "I worry about you. Our work is naturally dangerous, but you seem to have it even rougher with us sending you potentially lethal things to examine."

Watari blinked in surprise. "It…it's not as bad as all that. I'm usually very careful I was just a bit off today…"

The brunette nodded and removed his hand. "Yes, I know. So get some sleep so you'll be on par tomorrow and I won't have to worry so much, alright?"

You worry about me? "Okay, sure Tatsumi, whatever you say."

He nodded before yawning and heading out the door. When Watari was sure he was gone he sat down in his chair and suddenly cracked his forehead to the hard oak surface of the desk.

This close…I was this close to kissing him…and possibly getting a restraining order, but still…so close…

"I'm switching to decaf," he muttered.

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Yeah, obviously I'm running low on ideas. I think maybe one more chapter for this one and then it's on to the next 'book'.

REVIEW and SUGGEST!!! I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel here!!