Author's Notes: Writing this part was much like pouring hydrogen peroxide into an open wound. You know it has to be done, and you put it off, and put it off... but that doesn't make it hurt any less. ^^

Pretty much, chapter 5 was all I had in mind when I started this story, so this and the rest is coming along as I think it up. Which is often when I sit down and tell myself "Write, damn you!" and then drag my muse up out of the basement. Which is happening less frequently, because my professors seem to find it amusing to give me tests every two days or so.

On the bright side, I want to thank everyone who's reviewed. This story just passed 'The Incident with the Owl', which had received the most reviews for any one story in the several years I've been posting on ff.net. You're all so good to me! *little heart*

Warnings? Yaoi. Sap. Possible OOC.

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Outside Looking In
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Chapter 6
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Love was the first thing that came to Hisoka in the depths of unconsciousness, washing over him in a thick, sweet wave. Even before he was fully awake, the emotion staggered the boy, left him trembling with the sheer strength of it; the feeling was something to get lost in, something to drown in, if he wasn't careful.

But it wasn't overwhelming, somehow. It wasn't pressing in, didn't make him struggle to throw off something that wasn't his own. Just as the gentle strength of the arms around him was welcome, so too was the empathic warmth that the contact brought.

It was strange, to feel positive emotions directed toward him, terrifying to be able to sense their utter truth. Every preservation instinct that had developed during sixteen years of mistreatment and neglect screamed for him not to trust, that trust would only hurt him more. But after so long spent knowing only hatred, Hisoka found himself helpless to do anything more than soak in the simple pleasures that his partner's touch brought.

"Hisoka?" It was the man's voice, still heavy with sleep, that brought him the rest of the way to awareness. "You're awake, right?"

The young shinigami's eyes fluttered open slowly, and he struggled to keep down the blush that heated his cheeks; it was a losing battle when he discovered that Tsuzuki's face was only a few inches from his own. "What about it?" the boy demanded sharply, assuming a harsh tone in an attempt to conceal his embarrassment.

"Oh, nothing." To Hisoka's utter mortification, his partner pulled him closer, snuggling him like a teddy bear. "Just wondering."

"Idiot!" he hissed in response. "What do you think you're doing?!"

Tsuzuki's only answer was to shift slightly, tighten the hold, and give a contented little sigh. And for some reason, the younger shinigami couldn't quite find the strength to push him away.

Hisoka relaxed cautiously, by degrees, until at last the feeling of his partner's arms around him was warm again, and reassuring. It was peaceful, in a way that he'd never known the word could be used. Comforting, to be so close to another living being, and to feel so much of him. Amazing, that anyone could care about-- could love-- the boy that they'd all hated so completely.

It was something that would take a little getting used to.

"I've got an idea!" Tsuzuki declared abruptly, managing to shatter the sense of peace in approximately two seconds flat.

"You do?" The boy gave him the most withering look that could be achieved from the comfortable position in his partner's arms. "It can't be that important, then."

"Hisokaaaaa," came the childish whine, followed abruptly by pleading violet eyes and puppy ears. "That's so meeeaaaaan."

"Not mean," the young shinigami corrected matter-of-factly. "Just true." A long moment passed, filled with Tsuzuki's pathetic little whimpers. "...fine. What's your idea?"

"Let's go to Earth!" the man offered happily.

Hisoka squirmed out of his partner's hold, pushing himself back to arms length in order to search the man's face. "You really are an idiot," he declared, after a moment's consideration. "You -know- Tatsumi-san wants that paperwork finished by today."

"Exactly!' the older shinigami announced, sitting up abruptly. The sudden loss of contact ran like a shock through Hisoka's body, and he found himself suppressing the sudden urge to clutch onto the man's arm and refuse to let go.

Oblivious to the effect that the action had caused in the young shinigami, Tsuzuki lifted a fist triumphantly as he stood beside the bed. "Watari moved that party of his to today-- he'll be keeping Tatsumi busy all day so that Wakaba can handle decorations without anyone interfering."

Hisoka blinked, bright green eyes disbelieving. "What about the chief?"

"Drunk," his partner chirped. "Yuma-chan agreed to spike the coffee machine by his office-- you know he always has at least three cups by nine."

The boy's expression took on more than a hint of suspicion. "When did you find all of this out?"

The violet-eyed shinigami wagged a finger and attempted to look secretive. "I have my sources."

"...Idiot."

"Hisoka!" came the protest. "It's a -good- plan!"

Still rumpled from sleep, the boy pushed himself into a sitting position. "For you, maybe." The dry tone suggested -exactly- the sort of things that were good plans by Tsuzuki's standards.

"So mean..." the man whimpered, looking very much like a plant that someone had neglected to water.

A long moment passed. Two. Tsuzuki was looking more pathetically hopeful with each second that ticked by, and it didn't help that the emotions matched.

"Idiot," Hisoka berated, but it was more of a resigned sigh than a word. "Don't jump to conclusions."

"So we -are- going?!" the man exclaimed, surging forward to wrap him in an impulsive hug. It was over before he could protest it, and so the young shinigami saw little choice but to let it go by without comment.

Hisoka pulled himself to a standing position, attempting to ignore the peculiar little glow of warmth that spending a night in Tsuzuki's arms has left inside him. Eying his partner with a mixture of fondness and exasperation, the boy shook his head. "Only if you change out of your pajamas."

A flood of feeling rushed in on the boy at Tsuzuki's sudden spike of joy, and between his partner's emotions and the quiet calm that he'd found for himself, Hisoka nearly collapsed back onto the bed. His legs held, however, leaving the young shinigami only one other option in the face of so much delight: to smile.

And suddenly, watching a violet-eyed, puppy-tailed man scurrying around in badly-patterned pajamas, frantic in his excitement, there was a reason to. Lips creeping upward into a tentative smile, the boy waited for his partner.

* * *

Hisoka had smiled.

Even seven hours later, with the sun sinking lower as the day grew late, Tsuzuki couldn't get the image out of his mind. It had been, the older shinigami was confident, the perfect beginning to a perfect day.

Munching on a stick of Pocky, the man let his own grin creep wider, the bounce in his stride speaking of both good spirits and sugar consumption.

"Now what's wrong?" the boy demanded abruptly, managing somehow to sound both irritated and disinterested at the same time.

But the older shinigami -had- spent a day being able to read his partner's emotions, and had been pleased to discover that Hisoka's words were much sharper than his intentions. And so he winked a violet eye, and smiled down at the boy. "Who says anything has to be wrong?"

The innocent smile was a bit -too- innocent.

"You're planning something," the boy declared. "I can feel it." Bright green eyes narrowed with suspicion, watching the older man carefully.

"Oh, right," Tsuzuki laughed, waving off the accusation. "Nothing to worry about." Absently, he offered his partner one of the sweets still clutched in his hand. "Pocky?"

"You aren't changing the subject," Hisoka insisted stubbornly. Folding slender arms over his chest, the young shinigami didn't break the glare that he'd fixed on his partner.

Tsuzuki cocked his head to the side, childish smile stretching just a bit wider. When he spoke, his voice was teasing. "Only gonna tell you if you take the Pocky."

A blink, and startled green eyes trailed from the man's face to the chocolate-coated sweet. "Take the...?" But the confusion was short-lived, replaced by the tell-tale signs of annoyance. "Fine. Whatever." Snatching the stick from his partner, Hisoka turned an expectant gaze to the man. "Talk."

"Wellll," Tsuzuki began, drawing the word out to add suspense. "All things considered, I thought that it would be the best idea."

"What would?" the boy demanded sharply, though the effect was lessened by the fact that the words were mumbled around a stick of Pocky. The glare that he shot the violet-eyed shinigami, however, more than made up for the lack of tone.

Something threatening in the depths of bright green eyes made Tsuzuki abandon presentation in favor of the surprise factor. "Going to the party!" the man enthused. "After all, you've been fine on Earth all day." A sunny grin went a long way to emphasize the point.

"Idiot!" Hisoka snapped, to cover up the fact that his partner was, in fact, correct. "What makes you think I'd -want- to go?"

Violet eyes blinked cutely. "That's why you wanted the potion, right? So you could go?"

The boy opened his mouth. Closed it, at a loss for what to say. Cursed quietly when he felt the blush creep to his cheeks.

Tsuzuki, of course, took the silence as assent. "Great!" he cheered. "Let's go now-- I don't want to be late!"

"Wait," Hisoka protested. "It isn't even--"

But by then Tsuzuki had latched onto his arm, smiling and chattering excitedly about all the sweets that Watari had planned to bring. A moment later, they faded from view.

~end part 6~