Wah! My first Yami no Matsuei fic, about time I wrote one~!
After the Rain
It was a fairly straightforward case. The spirit of 80-year old Mira Kazume had lingered after her stroke, and the Ju-Oh-Cho employees already knew why. She refused to fade peacefully into death so long as her only son was planning on selling the family property to a developer. No tragic, premature death, no murders, and no Muraki. All they had to do was convince a thoroughly modern couple to settle down on a rambling farmhouse instead of staying in their nice downtown apartment. No problem, right?
"Aah! This is impossible!"
Hisoka cast an annoyed glare at the apartment he and his partner had just left and shoved his hands in his pockets. He began walking towards the elevator while Tsuzuki wrung his hands dramatically and whined.
"Why don't they want to move? The farm isn't that bad, I bet it would fix up real nice even..."
"You saw their apartment. It's spacious and conveniently located, and they're already comfortable in it. For them, it's home."
"Yes, but..."
"And what if they can't afford to renovate the farmhouse?"
"But..."
"We should talk to Kazume again, see if there's anything else we can do."
"Okay..."
The pair entered the elevator and rode in silence to the ground floor. They walked about five steps out the door of the building before Tsuzuki nudged Hisoka's elbow and pointed at a café across the street.
"Come on, Hisoka, let's have coffee and cake! I'll pay~!"
"Do you even have any money at all?"
"Of course I do! I think..."
"Let's just go back. It looks like it's going to rain soon."
"A little rain won't hurt anybody! You won't melt."
"That's what you think."
Tsuzuki pouted, then smiled. He walked with Hisoka back to their (cheap) hotel humming to himself. Hisoka muttered under his breath and tried not to notice his partner.
Once they reached their hotel room, they hung their coats and began their little routine. Tsuzuki changed into a sweater while Hisoka tidied 'his side' of the room. Hisoka worked on a bit of paperwork while Tsuzuki took a short nap. Tsuzuki fixed instant noodles while Hisoka took a shower. They didn't speak to each other; instead, they respected each other's privacy and kept their own thoughts. Surprisingly, it had been Tsuzuki to initiate the routine--one day he just calmed down. Not for any long amount of time, mind you, but Hisoka was happy with the change. In exchange for Tsuzuki's new attitude, Hisoka adopted one as well. He became less angry and annoyed and even found himself a (small) sense of humor. It took weeks for these subtle differences to be noticed by their coworkers, and when confronted about it each blamed their partner for it. Tsuzuki claimed he pouted and whined less because his partner wasn't as mean to him now. Hisoka said he wasn't angry with Tsuzuki as much because he stopped being so annoying all the time. The two were entwined in a careful and delicate dance of emotions, and neither wondered what had initiated it.
Tsuzuki left Hisoka's dinner on top of the microwave and took his own to a chair by the window. As he ate, he watched the last drops of a light shower fall from the clouds onto the umbrellas below.
"See, I told you it would rain."
Hisoka stood a little behind the chair, wearing jeans and a sweater with a towel around his neck. Tsuzuki pointed with his chopsticks at the microwave, then turned back to the window. His partner ate at the desk, bent over some half-completed forms, but looked up when he heard a noise by the window.
"What are you doing?"
"Trying to open the window, of course! Stupid window locks."
"Don't open the window, it's raining outside, you'll get wet."
"No, it's stopped raining...almost, anyways. Why won't it open?"
"Maybe the windows don't open. Some hotels are like that, as a safety precaution."
Tsuzuki pushed at the window a bit more before giving up and slumping back in his chair. After about five seconds he leapt back up and ran to the door, noodles forgotten on the sill. Hisoka looked slightly alarmed.
"Now what are you doing?"
"Going outside! This is the best time to go outside, right after it rains."
"Don't be out late, you've still got work to do and I'm not going to do it for you."
Tsuzuki put on his shoes and coat, then looked around for an umbrella.
"Come with me, Hisoka! We can go for a walk."
"I'm busy."
"Please, Hisoka?"
Hisoka was then confronted with a heartbreakingly cute puppy face, complete with huge watery sad eyes. He felt Tsuzuki's excitement and hope, and then felt a bit guilty himself. A month ago this kind of begging would have earned Tsuzuki a whack on the head and a muttered "idiot," but now...it was different.
"Fine, I'll go."
"Yay! Thank you! It'll be fun, I promise."
"But as soon as we get back, you're going to finish your paperwork."
"Aww..."
Tsuzuki bounced on his heels while Hisoka put on his shoes and jacket, then handed his partner an umbrella and headed out the door. Hisoka locked up behind them, then they were off.
They walked in silence until they reached a small park. Tsuzuki ran ahead into the park and stood under a large leafy tree breathing deeply while Hisoka stayed on the sidewalk.
"Hisoka?"
"No. It's muddy over there, and I'd rather not have mud-covered shoes, thanks."
"Stand in the grass, then, it's not muddy there."
Tsuzuki walked around the tree while Hisoka stepped carefully to join him, treading only in thick patches of grass. Tsuzuki smiled at his partner.
"Isn't it great here, Hisoka?"
"Not really. It's wet and muddy. Why do you like the mud so much?"
"It's not the mud. Doesn't it smell wonderful out here? And it's so peaceful...I bet there's nobody else in this whole park."
"Yes, they're all warm and dry in their homes."
Tsuzuki's smile faded.
"Do you want to go back then, Hisoka?"
Hisoka didn't need to look at his partner's face to tell he was disappointed. He looked around the park, at the damp grass and how it contrasted sharply with the dark mud, at the drops of rain dripping from the trees, and finally up at the gray clouds hovering above him. He took a deep breath and realized his partner had been right. It did smell wonderful, and it was peaceful, and maybe he didn't mind the mud so much as he thought.
"Whatever. Whenever you want to go back is fine."
Tsuzuki's smile returned, and he reached up to pluck a leaf from the tree. Hisoka frowned as drops fell from the shaken branch onto his face. His partner turned the leaf in his hands, then pressed it to his lips and let it fall to the ground.
"Do you know my favorite thing about rain?"
Hisoka raised a questioning eyebrow but didn't respond.
"The earth...it smells so good when it rains. It smells kinda like you, Hisoka."
This statement shocked and embarrassed the poor empath. He turned bright pink when he felt Tsuzuki's emotions--he was being plain and truthful. Hisoka cleared his thoughts and his throat.
"Does it?"
Their eyes met, and for a long moment they just stared at each other. Finally Tsuzuki turned his attention towards the tree, tracing his fingers along the grooves in the bark.
"I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"For what I said. It made you uncomfortable, so I'm sorry."
Tsuzuki's hand dropped and came to rest in his pocket. He looked up into the leaves, then turned to walk away when he noticed Hisoka was absent.
"Hisoka?"
A small noise behind him made him wheel around quickly, fighting stance ready, to find his partner's face dangerously close to his chest. Tsuzuki stood frozen while Hisoka sniffed his clothes a bit, took a deep breath, seemed to think for a minute then straightened up. Hisoka looked Tsuzuki square in the eye, his face completely blank.
"Nutmeg."
Tsuzuki's confusion was evident on his face.
"Wh-what?"
"Nutmeg. You smell like nutmeg."
"I do?"
"Yep. Definitely nutmeg."
"...oh."
Hisoka turned and began cautiously walking back to the path, leaving his partner stunned under the tree. When he reached the sidewalk, he called to Tsuzuki, and the two walked back to their hotel in silence, each in his own thoughts.
........
Uhhh...that was weird! ^_^"