Hi! I'd like to thank you all who reviewed, you are very nice! This chapter is boring, I know, but the next will be better, I promise! And thank you very much, dear Gold, for proof-reading it for me!

Disclaimers: Hijiri, Hisoka and Tsuzuki don't belong to me.

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A Waste of Time [Two: Ameno]

"I think I don't want to go."

Both the statement and the hesitation behind it surprised Tsuzuki, who stopped midway through buttoning his shirt and stared at Hisoka. The younger shinigami was standing on the doorway, struggling with a scarf that he had carelessly wrapped around his neck and which was now beginning to strangle him. "Why not, Hisoka?"

"Because I wasn't invited..." Hisoka said, yanking hard at the scarf as it persisted on refusing to let him breathe.

Tsuzuki pried the boy's hands away from the offensive piece of clothing and carefully tied it, batting away Hisoka's mutely protesting hands. The boy blushed furiously, but kept silent.

"Hisoka! Hijiri said he misses you," Tsuzuki said with a smile as he patted Hisoka's scarf into place. "And when you miss someone, you will definitely want to see this person again! He wants to see you, and he'll be happy if you go. You are invited."

Hisoka opened his mouth but nothing came forth. So, instead of arguing he shifted his attention to the window and stared at the snow that was still falling. The Weather Channel said that it would stop snowing but nature never failed to amaze humankind. The houses had a white layer of snow covering their rooftops the gardens, and the trees were frosted over in silver. Hisoka had never liked heat, which was why he disliked hot Summer and unusually warm Spring weathers and he considered Fall a 'dying' season. But looking at the white spread all around and no sign of plant life, he suddenly wondered if Winter was perhaps the worst season of all.

Tsuzuki pulled on his trenchcoat and looked at himself in the mirror. He ran his hands through his hair, trying to make it look less like a second home for birds and more like...hair. Unfortunately, fingers are not meant to do the work of combs and Tsuzuki was not satisfied with the results. He stared at his reflection with a half-rueful, half-frustrated expression on his face, but Hisoka's voice broke his concentration.

"What if...what if Hijiri wants to be alone with you?" As soon as the words left his mouth, Hisoka felt a blush rising to his cheeks and he quickly turned his head away from his partner.

Tsuzuki turned from the glass and smiled, shaking his head. "Hisoka...don't be silly!" he exclaimed, ruffling Hisoka's hair and wrapping an arm around the boy's shoulders before he could protest. "I told you, he'll want to see you too, not just me alone. Come on, Hisoka, let's go now!"

Hisoka hadn't left the house for the last four days and was rather impressed to notice how quickly snow had managed to cover the streets in the blink of an eye, making it hard for people to walk without slipping on the wet concrete or tripping over some snowdrift. But he found the lazy, steady movement of the snowflakes as they drifted down somewhat distracting, and added to this, he was busy shielding himself from the feelings and conversations of the many people around. Hence he didn't really stop to notice exactly where Tsuzuki was taking him or how long it took to get there. The street-lights changed from red to green and the screeching sound of the vehicles on the roads was the only thing that Hisoka could recall before Tsuzuki stopped walking.

"It's here, I guess."

One word to describe the house was 'ordinary'. It was not a big house, and consisted of only one storey, with a garden and a white fence running all around the house. A soft layer of snow covered the roof and the doorsteps, and for a moment Hisoka wondered if they would be able to open the door without having to get a shovel, but Tsuzuki was pulling at him again and he halted that particular train of thought.

Tsuzuki knocked on the door and then waited, with surprising patience. Patience was something that Hisoka didn't have at times like these, and besides, it was Hijiri, and Hisoka still felt rather uncomfortable about the whole visiting thing. The feeling that he should really not be there grew stronger and Hisoka decided to leave even though he knew that he had no idea where he was and would end up getting lost.

"I'm going home." He announced abruptly and turned on his heel.

Tsuzuki caught him just as he slipped and nearly fell. The older man carefully steadied the blushing boy. "You're staying. C'mon, Hisoka! It's going to be a nice surprise and don't you tell me that you're not curious to see how Hijiri is now!" Tsuzuki added, holding firmly on to Hisoka's arms to prevent the boy from running away.

Hisoka couldn't deny that, but he'd rather lie than admit defeat. "No, I'm not. He's probably not even home, Tsuzuki! Why don't we go home and you can come back lat—"

As if on cue, they heard the click of the door being unlocked, and after a few tentative movements, Hijiri managed to push open the door in spite of the snow. Instinctively, Hisoka hid behind Tsuzuki, where he could look at Hijiri without being noticed. Hijiri was different.

Hijiri smiled widely and launched himself at Tsuzuki, wrapping his arms around his neck, and the waves of euphoria that emanated from Hijiri were so intense that some of it actually managed to filter through Hisoka's shields. Hijiri's eyes had been closed when he hugged Tsuzuki, but they eventually opened lazily, and when he saw Hisoka, his smile widened. "Hisoka! You came too!"

Hisoka swallowed, and noticed that in spite of himself, he was really very happy to see Hijiri too. Hijiri was much taller than him now and when he hugged Hisoka, it almost felt like it was Tsuzuki, with such sincere warmth enveloping him completely. It felt good for a moment, when Hisoka wrapped his arms around Hijiri and tried to enjoy the contact without synchronizing with him to see if the feelings inside the violinist were for Tsuzuki or for Hisoka himself.

Warmth was gone too soon, as Hijiri broke the embrace and Hisoka became aware that they were still outside, standing in the freezing weather. Stray snowflakes were beginning to melt in his hair and Hisoka shivered, partly from the physical cold, partly from the realization that, no matter how hard he tried, he'd never be able to see Hijiri as a rival, even though they might soon be in some sort of competition to get to Tsuzuki's heart. Hijiri was so sweet and nice that it was impossible for Hisoka to dislike him. And Tsuzuki was clueless, smiling at both of them affectionately. Hijiri returned that smile, but Hisoka somehow couldn't bring himself to do the same. He didn't think he stood a chance against Hijiri.

"Come inside! I had a hard time opening the door because of the snow. I had to wake up several times during the night to clean the doorstep and prevent myself from being snowed in," Hijiri said, entering the house and motioning to Tsuzuki and Hisoka to follow him. "It's snowing so much that it's scary. It takes only one hour to cover anything in a thick layer of snow."

The interior of the house was as simple and ordinary-looking as the exterior. The walls were a deep cream and were hung with a few abstract paintings. The living room was small and cozy and the visitors could tell that Hijiri didn't need much space for himself. Living by yourself could be very lonely at times, as Hisoka knew. He himself had lived alone for almost two years before Tsuzuki invited Hisoka to live with him, though purely as friends.

The abstract paintings on the walls added a splash of vibrant colour to the living room. However, Hisoka wasn't the type to appreciate abstract paintings, for he saw nothing but dashes, curves and impossible, colorful shapes. Still, those meaningless paintings made him feel somewhat calm. Hijiri's house was not like Tsuzuki's and Hisoka's. The walls of their house were painted in several different colors, and mixed objects that usually didn't go together, until the house looked almost alive. It was ironic, Hisoka knew, that the house of the living wasn't as lively as the house of the dead.

"It's certainly better inside." Hijiri commented, locking the door. "Tea, anyone?"

Tsuzuki immediately sprouted enthusiastic ears and a tail, and it was needless to say that Hijiri's offer was accepted with delight.

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Sitting before the hearth, enjoying the warmth of the flames and from the overwhelmingly positive emotions that came from Tsuzuki and Hijiri, who were chatting on the other end of the couch, Hisoka felt almost at peace. It was a false peace, he knew, for he kept watching Hijiri as if the other boy was about to jump on Tsuzuki any minute now. Hisoka knew that his jealousy was foolish and that he shouldn't be thinking of his two friends that way. He should be joining in the conversation instead and ignoring the annoying part of him that insisted that it was late and they should be heading home already. The day had been so pleasant and yet, unlike Tsuzuki, Hisoka hadn't lost track of time, but constantly glanced at his watch as if he was running late.

Hisoka glanced over to the window, rather bothered that it was still snowing. How long until the snow stopped falling? How long would it take until the clouds parted and the sun came out, allowing life to return? How long until he woke up one day, alone at home and discovered that everything was just like it was before, without Hijiri appearing out of the blue and Tsuzuki being over-hyper because of that? How long until Tsuzuki was Hisoka's and Hisoka's only? Long, that was the key word. Very long. Like Tsuzuki, when he learned that 'time' would mean nothing to him anymore, even though he continued to wear a watch, Hisoka began exercising patience, but he wasn't prepared to sit and watch people talk without having a thing to do.

"Hey, Hisoka, what time is it?" Tsuzuki asked, finally noticing Hisoka's instisten time-watching.

"Eleven fourty-five." Hisoka said, looking at his watch for the sixth time in the last ten minutes. Good emotions and fire weren't exactly enough to relieve the boredom.

"It's late!" Tsuzuki exclaimed, raising his eyebrows. "We better go home."

"Already?" Hijiri asked, sadly, glancing at his own watch to make sure that Hisoka hadn't commited a mistake.

"It is eleven fourty-five." Hisoka said, narrowing his eyes. Did Hijiri think he was lying just to get Tsuzuki out of there?

Tsuzuki stood up, smiling like he had been all day and helped both Hijiri and Hisoka to do the same, already heading for the door. "Sankyuu, Hijiri, I liked being here very much!"

Hijiri smiled too, but Hisoka knew that the violinist wasn't happy as he appeared. He thought of how lonely Hijiri would be, all by himself in that empty house and couldn't help but feel bad for the violinist.

"It was my pleasure," Hijiri said, trying to sound cheerful. "But, well, now that you know my address you can visit me any time you like. Please come often!"

"Sure!" Tsuzuki agreed, joyfully.

Hijiri unlocked the door, turned the doorknob and pushed, but the door didn't budge. He tried again, but the result was the same. "It won't move," Hijiri said worriedly, giving the door a harder push. Still nothing.

Tsuzuki tried, too, but he didn't have any luck. Meanwhile, Hisoka walked to the window and peered outside. A huge snowdrift was blocking the door and it didn't seem like a simple push would move it. Hijiri joined him and they came to the same disturbing

"We're snowed in."

Hisoka frowned but Hijiri beamed, cheering silently for at least snow had had some use!

"Is there a back door or something?" Tsuzuki asked, trying to fix the situation.

"No...but even if there was one, it would probably be blocked too." Hijiri replied, locking the door again.

"So what do you do now?" Hisoka asked, not really expecting any answer from the other two as they stared at the door.

"Well, you can stay here tonight. There's a guest room and you can sleep there. You don't mind sleeping in the same room, do you?"

"No!" Tsuzuki said, practically beaming. Hisoka glared at him and tried to say something, anything that would make him change his mind, but a sudden wave of sheer joy coming from Hijiri hit him and he gave up. It would be just this once and even when Hisoka knew that he would most likely be unable to sleep being so close to someone, especially Tsuzuki for that matter, the smile that Hijiri gave as he pulled Tsuzuki and Hisoka to the room made it worth the sacrifice.

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"Why didn't you tell him?"

It was almost midnight, and outside the sky was dark grey, announcing the presence of the night, but it wouldn't grow darker until it had stopped snowing. Night brought silence to the city as people prepared to sleep, and silence couldn't be more awkward in the small room that Tsuzuki and Hisoka were sharing for the night. The boy was glad that at least they didn't have to sleep in the same bed, but being so very close to Tsuzuki was beginning to make him feel uneasy. Even though they lived in the same house, Hisoka had never slept less than several metres away from Tsuzuki, and at most, in the room next to the older shinigami's. Here, they were all of three feet apart, lying in beds next to each other!

"Tell him what?" Tsuzuki asked, opening his eyes and forcing them to focus on his young partner.

"That we didn't need to use the door. That we could have teleported to the street."

Hisoka didn't need to look at Tsuzuki to know that his eyes had widened. "That didn't even occur me." The man confessed, sincerely. "Why didn't you tell him?"

Hisoka hesitated. "Truth to be told, I'm not sure," he admitted, frowning slightly, his eyes fixed thoughtfully on the white ceiling above him. Anything to prevent him from looking at the curious pair of purple eyes that stared at him, waiting for an answer. "I don't know, Hijiri just seemed so...happy. I couldn't tell him."

"I know..." Tsuzuki said, stretching. "It's just for today, Hisoka. I know you're not very happy being stuck here with me but let's just humor Hijiri. We can go home tomorrow."

"It's not that I'm 'not happy here with you', it's just that..." Hisoka stopped, chewing slightly on his bottom lip, thinking of something to say. It's just that we're so close and I'm frightened. I don't know what might happen if we stay this close, and not knowing what's going to happen scares me. "...I'm used to my bed."

Tsuzuki chuckled, shaking his head and pulling the covers up to his chin. "Pretend that this is your bed, close your eyes and go to sleep, Hisoka."

Hisoka sighed, yawning as Tsuzuki's sleepiness began to affect him. Still, he couldn't relax into sleep as he did at home, alone in his room, and he began to toss and turn, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

It was going to be a long night.

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