A/N: Well, here it is. The end...again...but this time it's for good. Or is it? *.~
And this is a bit longer than the usual chappy. But not so long it's boring.
I thank you all for your support. I'll answer your reviews now so once you're finish reading you can think about the fic and not my silly ramblings.
Madiha...sequel, huh? I don't know. Tell you what, read on and tell me if you guess what I think about a sequel. I'm glad you liked the last chappy. Thanks for being there, ok?
Miyahara Yuuki, no way I'm angry! I didn't mean to make it sound like I was angry!! I'm a total RuHanaRu fan. And I think you have a SD fic, so I'm proceeding on reading that. If I wrote a SD fic, would you read it? Thanks for the tips. I already checked that ML you mentioned and now I'm a member.
Narisa Rei, wow even in the last chappy I got new reviewers? Here's your Tsuzuki plushie. Thanks for reading!
Kara Angitia, yet another new reviewer!! Tsuzuki plushie for you! I hope I've wrote enough Tatari fluffiness in this chappy. That was exactly what I didn't like about last chapter and what made the epilogue so urgent. Thanks for reading!
Nakkie? The same Nakkie? *sniff* I'm so happy to know that you were reading. I don't like reviews for the flattering. I just want people reading my fic, you know? Thanks a bunch!!
Last waltz!! Yay! you've changed the gun for glomping!! I like that much better!! Glad you liked it; hope you like this and thanks for reading!
Kyraille Fade, we seem like old friends now, ne? Heh, heh. Anyway, there's some Tatari here, but don't scroll to that part. you gotta read it all, ok? No cheating. It's just they are so cute together, ne? Well, I don't say by to you cuz I still have to write the answer for your review to the other fic. See you there, *-*!!
Tifa, so here's the epilogue, and yes, you're amongst my favourite reviewers. Am I awful for having favs? Anyway, hope you like this! And since you're amongst my favourites, maybe you wanna stick around for "A smile..."? Ah, I'm pushing my luck. Arigatou gozaimasu!!
Sheera's Greywolf! I told you; happy ending...er...so ok, yes, it's happy ending, but, you may wanna read this. And don't hate me!! And the new chappy of ASUMF is here, 'K?
Thank you all forever!! I already said that, ne? Anyway...
Enjoy!
A DEVIL'S THRILL
EPILOGUE
"'Soka?"
Tsuzuki's hesitant voice leaked through the young man's thoughts as they walked through EnmaChou's halls; the green eyed shinigami trying his best to appear as if nothing was different to avoid drawing attention to himself, while his partner held his hand as if his life depended on it.
Morning had arrived without asking permission, as it always did. It was Friday; just five days before both their lives seemed to be stuck in a hopeless pit of despair. And it wasn't being dramatic either. If asked just five days before, they both would have either said their lives had never been more miserable, or lied.
But it comes to show you, life does have it's surprises. Who'd have thought something good could have come of the past week? Seriously though; if their lives had sucked five days ago, then the past week defined the term 'sucking' into a whole new level of stratospheric proportions.
And yet it was Friday, and it had all seemed to have melted away. And now it was all different; and nothing had changed at the same time. So much it was so that, if asked, both would have had to say they really didn't know what was so desperate about their situation to begin with; since they were so happy in a quiet and familiar sort of way at the moment.
Hisoka didn't turn to look at Tsuzuki. What was the use? He already knew he'd find the baka staring at him with those cute puppy eyes. And he already knew what he was going to ask. It wasn't as if he hadn't already asked ten thousand times before that morning.
"What?" Hisoka said, mildly annoyed. As annoyed as one could be when all one's dreams have come true; if one didn't know they had dreams to begin with.
Now, that just sounded corny.
"So...Are we really a couple now? I mean..." Tsuzuki asked, *again*, in his childish tone.
He wanted to glare. He really did!
All he could manage though, was a blush and a little smile.
"Yes, we are," he whispered shyly and stopped walking, turning to look at Tsuzuki. Then he looked around, making sure there were no witnesses and brushed his lips with his partner's in a chaste kiss.
He really didn't want to be dealing with all the explanations he'd have to give if everyone found out about them. An image of the Hokkaido sisters shrieking about how kawaii they looked together and about the wedding dress they'd want him to try invaded his thoughts and he shuddered. But luckily, there was no one around, so he indulged himself and kissed Tsuzuki a little more.
He had to admit it; it was frustrating having to spend that particular day stuck at the office.
Tsuzuki cupped his face with one hand when the kiss broke, rubbing the soft cheek tenderly and staring into his eyes lovingly.
"So,...you're like,...my boyfriend?"
'Wow,' Hisoka thought, dumbfounded. 'I'm Tsuzuki's boyfriend!'
On the outside he just nodded. The older man opened his eyes wide, and made an outstanding impression of a puppy, with his violet eyes shimmering with happiness. 'Gods', Hisoka noted, 'I can almost see his tale wagging'.
He saw it coming. He could see Tsuzuki's every move as in slow motion; and yet he wasn't able to move away fast enough. Before he even had time to say 'Eeep!', Tsuzuki jumped and took Hisoka on a fierce embrace, lifting his feet quite a few inches from the floor and knocking the air out of his lungs.
Cheerfully rubbing his cheek against Hisoka's, Tsuzuki beamed.
"Yay!! 'Soka, you're so cute!! And you're *my* boyfriend!!" Of course in his enthusiasm, Tsuzuki failed to notice the boy was starting to turn blue. "I'm going to take such a good care of you!! I'm gonna treat you real nice and hug you a lot and kiss you even more!!"
When had Tsuzuki turned into Elmira?
"Tsuzuki..." Hisoka breathed. His face was...well, lets see, blue from lack of oxygen plus red from embarrasment...yes, Hisoka's face was purple.
"What?" Oblivious, Tsuzuki didn't loosen his hold.
"Can't...*gasp*...breathe..."
"What was that, 'Soka? Should I call you 'Soka? Or koi? Koi is nice, but 'Soka is cute! Like you!!!"
"Tsuzuki..." this time it sounded more like a hiss.
"Huh?"
"*Put* *me* *down*" Hisoka was pissed.
Well, it was bound to happen, really.
"But 'Soka!"
"*Now*"
Tsuzuki released him. *sniff*
'Oh, no.' "Stop that."
"Stop what?" *sniff*
"The eye thing." *glare*
"What eye thing?" *sniff**sniff*
"Stop...*THAT!*" he motioned at Tsuzuki's puppy eyes and had to quickly look away, because the older man's bottom lip was starting to quiver.
Hisoka sighed and kept on walking in spite of Tsuzuki's whimpering, even though said whimpering was quickly getting to him.
'Is this how is going to be?' Hisoka thought, alarmed. 'Now that we're a couple I'm going to turn into mush every time he puts those puppy eyes for me?'
Tsuzuki tugged at his sleeve pitifully, yes, you've guessed it, sniffing.
"Are you mad?" the older man said, his voice shaking.
'Who am I kidding?' Hisoka went on in his mind. 'This has always gotten to me. It's just that now I don't wanna be as mean about it as I used to. He knows what he's doing, sneaky bastard.'
He stopped abruptly once more, and seized Tsuzuki by the shoulders.
"I'm not mad. I love you with all my heart and probably will until the end of time. But if you keep glomping me and suffocating me, I'll kick you on the head, ok?"
There was a few seconds of silence. Hisoka was staring right into the amethyst eyes, to his distress, with growing amusement. Tsuzuki stared right back, with a baffled expression, until his eyes turned shimmery again and Hisoka feared he'd been too rude.
"You...you...'Soka..."
The young man sighed.
'Please don't start crying again...please?'
"You really love me!!" Tsuzuki finished, taking the boy into his arms tightly again.
*sweatdrop*
It was useless.
-----------------------
It was really hard. Really, really hard, to find the right words to describe how happy he was feeling.
Maybe it felt like a sugar high? A sugar high caused by all sorts of sweets, but specially those with glaced sugar on top and tasty filling of all kinds of flavours.
Yup, yup.
Or maybe it felt like eating strawberry cake, with whipped cream and extra, extra sugar. There had to be a sweet that identified his feelings. Or maybe he was just hungry?
Never mind. Tsuzuki waltzed through the hall, quietly singing to himself his new mantra, and sure that all the birds in Meifuu had decided to join him.
"'Soka is my boyfriend! 'Soka is my boyfriend!" he sang over and over again, jumping a little with each step and earning him the confused stares from the people who happened to be walking the halls at the time.
He'd been properly kicked out of their office for shamelessly caressing Hisoka's leg with his bare foot while the young man tried to finish his load of files for the day. But he didn't mind.
And he wasn't in the least put out for what he was about to do. After all, he was convinced 'Soka was actually some type of human sweet and he was, indeed, suffering from a sugar high. He was just too happy to care.
Finally, he reached his destination and came to a stop in front of Tatsumi's door. The glass of said door graced him with a scene he was not ready for.
Tatsumi was sitting behind his desk. His face was abnormally red and his eyes were clutched tight. He was gripping the edge of the desk for dear life with one hand, while the other remained hidden under the desk and his breathing seemed very harsh.
It gave Tsuzuki quite a scare and he ran inside, at the same time trying to remember if shinigamis could have heart attacks.
"Tatsumi-san!!" the dark haired man yelped in distress.
The secretary opened his eyes -that were somewhat glassy- wide as saucers and gasped in surprise. He jumped on his seat and a loud bang was heard from under the desk, as well as a muffled yelp that Tsuzuki assumed it had been Tatsumi's. After all, he must have hit his knees horribly to make such noise. Tsuzuki was about to run to the other man's side when the secretary extended one hand, stopping him.
"Tatsumi-san, what's wrong? Do you feel ok?" he asked nervously.
Tatsumi took a deep, shaky breath and nodded.
"Don't...don't come near me, I've a bit...of a cold. You...you could catch something."
Tsuzuki took another step towards the brunette.
"I don't care! Let me help you!!" he said, his voice seeping with concern.
"No!!" Tatsumi shouted a bit too loudly and cleared his throat. "Seriously, Tsuzuki-san. I'm ok, I can manage!" his voice was turning desperate.
Tsuzuki shook his head stubbornly.
"I can take you to see Watari! You look awful!!"
Now something that sounded like a chuckle came from under the desk, followed by another bang and another yelp. Tatsumi tried to cover up by kicking the side of the desk a few more times and again clearing his throat.
Tsuzuki frowned.
"My leg...my leg is...er..." Little drops of cold sweat started to appear on the secretary's brow. "I think I do have to go to the infirmary. Let me finish with this reports and I'll go. Don't worry about me."
Tsuzuki hesitated for a moment. Now Tatsumi didn't look ill at all; just flushed and very embarrassed, which was far more worrying than the former. He could tell something weird was going on, but for the life of him, he couldn't figure it out. Maybe it was better if he didn't know, a part of his brain told him.
"Ok, Tatsumi-san. If you're sure..." Tatsumi nodded emphatically. "I just wanted to let you know I'll be out for an hour or two. I'll finish my work when I return, ok?"
Yes, something was definitively wrong, because Tatsumi just nodded and motioned him to go away. No reprimand, no yelling. Weird.
----------------
As soon as Tsuzuki was out of the door, Tatsumi jumped from his seat and under the desk. Of course, he was face to face with a pair of teary amber eyes and a beautiful blond head adorned with two big bumps.
The secretary took Watari's face with both hands and gently kissed the sore spot.
"Sweetie are you ok? I'm so sorry." he cooed as Watari snuggled next to him, whimpering slightly.
"Why'd you have to kick me?" the scientist whined.
"I'm sorry! He took me off guard, I didn't know what to do. Please don't get angry with me." Watari's only response was a low grunt, but Tatsumi wasn't worried, because the scientist encircled his waist with his arms and rested his head on his shoulder while he did so.
The secretary managed to get as comfortable as he could on the tiny space under his desk, pulling Watari close and comfortingly rubbing the scientist's back in circles. Though just a few minutes before they seemed to be having a lot more fun, he'd have to admit this was nice too.
But something was obvious. They'd have to stop doing...'it' at the office.
It wasn't as simple as it sounded though. They were two grown men...two very grown men, if you considered all the years they'd lived already, and they both had their structures and habits that would be very hard to break. Tatsumi knew it wasn't going to do to expect any of the two to change their ways. But it wasn't hopeless; not one bit. It was just a matter of using his brain; and if there was something Tatsumi was good at was thinking rationally.
Though the idea that he came up with defied rationality if he thought about the possible damage to his home. But that seemed to escape him at that moment.
"Sweetie?" he said softly, tucking a lock behind Watari's ear and causing the blond to sigh contently.
"What?"
"I have a spare room, you know?" his companion looked up and met his gaze, confusion and curiosity reflected on his features. "Well...," Tatsumi shrugged, "It's just that, when I got the place, I thought I could use it as a study. But I do all my work here, and that would have been spending money on furniture I wasn't really going to use. So then I thought about turning it into a library, but the truth is, I don't buy books. I always go to the library..." he stopped, feeling Watari chuckle.
"Cheap bastard." the other man said amusedly.
"Anyway,..." Tatsumi went on, ignoring Watari's words. "I was thinking...I'm not going to use that room; can't think of any use for it. And...well, the other day, when I took you back to your apartment I noticed that it's way too small for all the things you have there...Besides..." he shifted uncomfortably, "Well, my bed is bigger than yours and... It wouldn't mean anything because,...well, you could keep your stuff on that room; make it yours, and..."
"What are you saying?" Watari couldn't keep the feeling of anticipation from his voice.
Tatsumi locked eyes with him; he was nervous as hell and pretty sure he hadn't made any sense, but it was obvious Watari had picked up on it. The shadow master took a deep, deep breath and closed his eyes.
"Would you move in with me?"
He couldn't look; he just couldn't. It was too soon. Of course it was!! They had only made it official the day before and now he was asking Watari to move in with him?! What could have possessed him to say something so stupid? And Watari wasn't answering!! He'd blown it, he knew it.
Watari was mildly and pleasantly shocked. Whatever had Tatsumi meant by all that rambling before was out of his grasp, but his last question had been pretty much to the point. It did occur to him that it would mean he wouldn't get to stay at the lab so late as he was used to, and that the perfect balance that the complete mess that was his house probably wouldn't fit with Tatsumi's sense of perfection. Maybe that was what the other man had meant about the other room; thought he couldn't be sure. But he was surprised to discover it really didn't matter. Tatsumi wasn't going to force his life style onto him, that was for certain. And the prospect of sharing a home with the secretary- the same man who a week before wouldn't let anyone near- was more than appealing.
As amusing as it was seeing Tatsumi holding his breath, Watari felt it was time to give an answer. He just leaned over and nibbled the other man's ear viciously. He heard Tatsumi's sharp intake of breath and inwardly smiled.
"Is...that...a...a...?"
"Yes, silly." came the muffled reply. Those ears were just so edible!!
Watari showed his disappointment when Tatsumi moved away and his ministrations to the now reddened earlobe became impossible; but the shadow master was quick to give him something far more interesting to nibble on, when he captured his lips in a heated kiss that promised them to return to their previous activities. Watari offhandedly wondered if Tatsumi knew any other kind of kiss.
It wasn't long though, before Watari hit his head with the top of the desk once more. His head could only take so much, and so they pulled away, silently agreeing that it wasn't such a good idea after all. The secretary smiled sheepishly.
"We can't do anything here; that much's for certain." Watari nodded his agreement. "But I promise you tonight I'll take you out to dinner and then you can crash at my...er...our place for the night, so we can continue." he said the last bit in a wistful tone, stroking Watari's cheek gently.
They both crawled out from under the desk, dusting their clothes off. Watari sighed.
"Well...I guess I should go back to the lab...keep pretending to work..."
Tatsumi smiled knowingly.
"Yeah, you make it sound like a joke. Don't think I'm not on to you. I'm still your boss, you know?"
"I thought Konoe was our boss." Watari said innocently.
"..."
"Well, you can't blame me." Watari thought of something. Tatsumi could tell from the gleam on his love's eyes and the mischief on his face. "It's hard not to slack when you work on a lab that has no windows, a lock and a comfy, make-shift bed in it."
As soon as those words left his mouth, Watari noticed delighted that he was being dragged rather forcefully towards his lab.
Yes, life was *good*!!
-----------------------
Ah, it had all seemed so easy when he'd thought about it!!
Yet again, Tsuzuki Asato found himself on a familiar school yard. He was starting to recognise some of the faces now. He was practically sure he had heard a good part of those kids' lives from their conversations as they talked to each other oblivious of him for the last three days.
He even felt the urge to jump in on one of the conversations and give them some piece of advice. Well, they were talking about food, you see.
This time his hands were shaking for an entire different reason than last time, but shaking nonetheless. He started to realise how awkward this meeting would be. As much as his brain- and his heart- had registered the fact that he'd been dating Hisoka all along, he'd still felt funny inside at the thought of seeing Hijiri again.
But it had to be done. He had to leave all that sorry mess behind him once and for all and he did care about Hijiri. The boy had been a part on all of it; abeit not as he'd thought at first. Tsuzuki still had a thing or two to say to the young man.
He steeled him self and took a deep breath as soon as he saw the young man. 'It wasn't him, it wasn't him', he repeated over and over again in his mind. Amazingly enough, now that he was paying attention, he couldn't understand how he'd mistaken the two seemingly identical boys. Hijiri carried himself in a completely different manner. Upon a closer look, he could even see physical differences!!
Hijiri didn't seem to notice his presence. He was chatting happily with two friends when Tsuzuki tapped on his shoulder. He turned around and his eyes opened wide when he saw the older man. He smiled nervously and fidgeted a little.
"Tsuzuki! Hi! What...? What are you doing here?"
Now he could understand why Hijiri seemed so nervous when he saw him. The boy didn't know yet that their cover had been blown. And Tsuzuki knew he had a boyfriend around there somewhere. Still, his own nervousness was immediately replaced with an immense sense of gratitude; all he could think of doing was pulling Hijiri on a bear hug that made the young man gasp.
"What?...What is it?!" Hijiri asked rather anxiously.
From over the boy's shoulder, Tsuzuki could see the confused looks of his friends and he could feel Hijiri looking around in every direction.
"It's ok, Hijiri. I know." he pulled away, gracing the young man with his widest smile. "Hisoka told me everything!"
Hijiri stared at him, blinking confusedly.
"*What* exactly do you know?" the young man asked hesitantly, to make sure he wasn't about to say something he shouldn't.
Tsuzuki hugged him again. He was in the mood for hugging that day, it seemed.
"Everything! I know that he pretended to be you, and that you were helping him!!"
When Tsuzuki placed the boy back on the ground, Hijiri blushed furiously and stared at him in disbelief.
"You know?" Tsuzuki nodded, smiling brightly. "And you're not mad?" Tsuzuki shook his head no. "Oh."
"Actually," Tsuzuki cheered, "I'm forever thankful to you! If it weren't for you, 'Soka-chan wouldn't be my boyfriend!! Do you know what that means?! 'Soka-chan is *my* boyfriend!!"
Oblivious to all the people around him, Tsuzuki begun singing his little song again. Hijiri, as well as his friends, sweat dropped.
"What is that doctor doing here?" one of the boys whispered to the other, that just shrugged, flabbergasted. "Was he this crazy when he worked here?"
"I'm happy for you. I'm glad everything turned out alright." Hijiri said finally, smiling somewhat sadly. "And I'm glad you didn't get angry with me."
Tsuzuki noticed it; the slight sadness on the boy's eyes. He wasn't as dense as everyone thought. And it broke his heart to see it.
To Hijiri's surprise, Tsuzuki pulled him into another hug but, unlike the enthusiastic, choking hug he'd received earlier, this one was awfully gentle and warm. In spite of himself, Hijiri leaned into the hug, smiling.
"I know what it meant to you, Hijiri. How much it cost you." Tsuzuki whispered softly. "You have no idea how thankful I am and how much this means to me."
"I love you, you know?" Hijiri whispered, closing his eyes so that fighting his tears wasn't as tenuous.
Tsuzuki tightened his hold.
"I love you too."
"Yeah,...I know, just not the way...I wish,...you know?"
"Yeah." Tsuzuki sighed and pulled away slightly. "But, if I'm not mistaken, you've found a pretty handsome guy, haven't you?" Hijiri blushed and nodded. "I guess we tall, dark haired hunks are irresistible, huh?" he joked "Does he love you? Is he good to you? Cause if he hurts you..."
Hijiri's blush deepened and he waved him off nervously.
"No, no! He's...he's great. I'm actually pretty happy."
"Good." Tsuzuki answered honestly.
After a long talk, Hijiri and Tsuzuki parted ways. Hijiri felt melancholic when the older man left. It would be a long while before he was finally over his feelings for him. But he was more than happy to know Tsuzuki wasn't going to disappear from his life. That had been his greatest fear; that upon finding out, the older man would hate him. He had thought about it and, in the end, Tsuzuki's happiness had meant more to him.
Tsuzuki was moved and very surprised at the young man's selflessness. It made his heart swell. He'd make sure to make it up to him someday. After all, he owed him everything; more than what he'd ever be able to give.
Remembering exactly what was waiting for him thanks to Hijiri, Tsuzuki rushed back to his office to see if he could convince 'Soka-chan of sneaking out of the office earlier and have a real first date.
The incident at Tatsumi's office played back in his mind and he smiled. Yes he'd been dense; but being slow to catch up didn't mean he wouldn't catch up eventually. He couldn't wait to tell Hisoka what he'd seen.
Who'd have thought? Tatsumi, of all people.
Apparently, not much work would get done in Meifuu for a long while.
---------------------
The last bag was set in the trunk of the small car and Oriya sighed contently after closing it with a loud thud. He didn't know if it was the beautiful day, the warm air or the fact that he was finally going home, but Oriya was in a good mood.
He practically ran inside the motel room to get Muraki, trying not to start singing to himself.
In spite his hurry, he couldn't help to stop at the doorframe when he entered the room. He let a small smile play with his lips when he saw Muraki. The good doctor as standing next to the window; the evening light illuminated his figure in such a way, that for a moment Oriya couldn't see the bandages and the scars. For a split second, Muraki stood tall and proud, just as he'd always had. But eventually a cloud took the last rays of light away and Muraki's crumpled figure resurged.
Oriya approached him and gently encircled his friend's shoulders, removing him from his contemplation. Muraki looked at him, the same fog in his gaze, and whispered.
"Where are we going?"
"We're going home, Sensei. Remember I told you?"
"Home..." Muraki said softly, as it trying to make sense of the word.
The swordsman deposited his friend on the passenger seat and struggled to fasten his seatbelt. Muraki resumed looking at the darkening evening sky pretty much ignoring Oriya.
Or at least that was what he'd thought. The dark haired man rushed his way into the drivers seat and was about to speed out of there as fast as he could when he felt a gaze upon him. Startled, he turned around to see that Muraki was, indeed, staring at him curiously.
Oriya smiled.
"Sensei? Is there something you need?"
There was a slight surprise in the silver eyes. It was short lived though. Muraki stared at Oriya's eyes and, before the swordsman had a time to either freak out or stop him, the doctor placed a soft kiss on his lips.
It was so fast that Oriya, shocked out of his mind, wasn't sure it hadn't been a product of his imagination. Oriya hadn't even blinked and Muraki was already staring at the sky again; as if nothing had happened.
"Sensei?" he said weakly, unconsciously touching his lips.
"I just wanted to say thank you." the doctor whispered without turning around.
He wouldn't turn around; he was too engrossed in admiring the bloody red moon rising on the horizon, with a smirk on his face.
~THE END~
And this is a bit longer than the usual chappy. But not so long it's boring.
I thank you all for your support. I'll answer your reviews now so once you're finish reading you can think about the fic and not my silly ramblings.
Madiha...sequel, huh? I don't know. Tell you what, read on and tell me if you guess what I think about a sequel. I'm glad you liked the last chappy. Thanks for being there, ok?
Miyahara Yuuki, no way I'm angry! I didn't mean to make it sound like I was angry!! I'm a total RuHanaRu fan. And I think you have a SD fic, so I'm proceeding on reading that. If I wrote a SD fic, would you read it? Thanks for the tips. I already checked that ML you mentioned and now I'm a member.
Narisa Rei, wow even in the last chappy I got new reviewers? Here's your Tsuzuki plushie. Thanks for reading!
Kara Angitia, yet another new reviewer!! Tsuzuki plushie for you! I hope I've wrote enough Tatari fluffiness in this chappy. That was exactly what I didn't like about last chapter and what made the epilogue so urgent. Thanks for reading!
Nakkie? The same Nakkie? *sniff* I'm so happy to know that you were reading. I don't like reviews for the flattering. I just want people reading my fic, you know? Thanks a bunch!!
Last waltz!! Yay! you've changed the gun for glomping!! I like that much better!! Glad you liked it; hope you like this and thanks for reading!
Kyraille Fade, we seem like old friends now, ne? Heh, heh. Anyway, there's some Tatari here, but don't scroll to that part. you gotta read it all, ok? No cheating. It's just they are so cute together, ne? Well, I don't say by to you cuz I still have to write the answer for your review to the other fic. See you there, *-*!!
Tifa, so here's the epilogue, and yes, you're amongst my favourite reviewers. Am I awful for having favs? Anyway, hope you like this! And since you're amongst my favourites, maybe you wanna stick around for "A smile..."? Ah, I'm pushing my luck. Arigatou gozaimasu!!
Sheera's Greywolf! I told you; happy ending...er...so ok, yes, it's happy ending, but, you may wanna read this. And don't hate me!! And the new chappy of ASUMF is here, 'K?
Thank you all forever!! I already said that, ne? Anyway...
Enjoy!
A DEVIL'S THRILL
EPILOGUE
"'Soka?"
Tsuzuki's hesitant voice leaked through the young man's thoughts as they walked through EnmaChou's halls; the green eyed shinigami trying his best to appear as if nothing was different to avoid drawing attention to himself, while his partner held his hand as if his life depended on it.
Morning had arrived without asking permission, as it always did. It was Friday; just five days before both their lives seemed to be stuck in a hopeless pit of despair. And it wasn't being dramatic either. If asked just five days before, they both would have either said their lives had never been more miserable, or lied.
But it comes to show you, life does have it's surprises. Who'd have thought something good could have come of the past week? Seriously though; if their lives had sucked five days ago, then the past week defined the term 'sucking' into a whole new level of stratospheric proportions.
And yet it was Friday, and it had all seemed to have melted away. And now it was all different; and nothing had changed at the same time. So much it was so that, if asked, both would have had to say they really didn't know what was so desperate about their situation to begin with; since they were so happy in a quiet and familiar sort of way at the moment.
Hisoka didn't turn to look at Tsuzuki. What was the use? He already knew he'd find the baka staring at him with those cute puppy eyes. And he already knew what he was going to ask. It wasn't as if he hadn't already asked ten thousand times before that morning.
"What?" Hisoka said, mildly annoyed. As annoyed as one could be when all one's dreams have come true; if one didn't know they had dreams to begin with.
Now, that just sounded corny.
"So...Are we really a couple now? I mean..." Tsuzuki asked, *again*, in his childish tone.
He wanted to glare. He really did!
All he could manage though, was a blush and a little smile.
"Yes, we are," he whispered shyly and stopped walking, turning to look at Tsuzuki. Then he looked around, making sure there were no witnesses and brushed his lips with his partner's in a chaste kiss.
He really didn't want to be dealing with all the explanations he'd have to give if everyone found out about them. An image of the Hokkaido sisters shrieking about how kawaii they looked together and about the wedding dress they'd want him to try invaded his thoughts and he shuddered. But luckily, there was no one around, so he indulged himself and kissed Tsuzuki a little more.
He had to admit it; it was frustrating having to spend that particular day stuck at the office.
Tsuzuki cupped his face with one hand when the kiss broke, rubbing the soft cheek tenderly and staring into his eyes lovingly.
"So,...you're like,...my boyfriend?"
'Wow,' Hisoka thought, dumbfounded. 'I'm Tsuzuki's boyfriend!'
On the outside he just nodded. The older man opened his eyes wide, and made an outstanding impression of a puppy, with his violet eyes shimmering with happiness. 'Gods', Hisoka noted, 'I can almost see his tale wagging'.
He saw it coming. He could see Tsuzuki's every move as in slow motion; and yet he wasn't able to move away fast enough. Before he even had time to say 'Eeep!', Tsuzuki jumped and took Hisoka on a fierce embrace, lifting his feet quite a few inches from the floor and knocking the air out of his lungs.
Cheerfully rubbing his cheek against Hisoka's, Tsuzuki beamed.
"Yay!! 'Soka, you're so cute!! And you're *my* boyfriend!!" Of course in his enthusiasm, Tsuzuki failed to notice the boy was starting to turn blue. "I'm going to take such a good care of you!! I'm gonna treat you real nice and hug you a lot and kiss you even more!!"
When had Tsuzuki turned into Elmira?
"Tsuzuki..." Hisoka breathed. His face was...well, lets see, blue from lack of oxygen plus red from embarrasment...yes, Hisoka's face was purple.
"What?" Oblivious, Tsuzuki didn't loosen his hold.
"Can't...*gasp*...breathe..."
"What was that, 'Soka? Should I call you 'Soka? Or koi? Koi is nice, but 'Soka is cute! Like you!!!"
"Tsuzuki..." this time it sounded more like a hiss.
"Huh?"
"*Put* *me* *down*" Hisoka was pissed.
Well, it was bound to happen, really.
"But 'Soka!"
"*Now*"
Tsuzuki released him. *sniff*
'Oh, no.' "Stop that."
"Stop what?" *sniff*
"The eye thing." *glare*
"What eye thing?" *sniff**sniff*
"Stop...*THAT!*" he motioned at Tsuzuki's puppy eyes and had to quickly look away, because the older man's bottom lip was starting to quiver.
Hisoka sighed and kept on walking in spite of Tsuzuki's whimpering, even though said whimpering was quickly getting to him.
'Is this how is going to be?' Hisoka thought, alarmed. 'Now that we're a couple I'm going to turn into mush every time he puts those puppy eyes for me?'
Tsuzuki tugged at his sleeve pitifully, yes, you've guessed it, sniffing.
"Are you mad?" the older man said, his voice shaking.
'Who am I kidding?' Hisoka went on in his mind. 'This has always gotten to me. It's just that now I don't wanna be as mean about it as I used to. He knows what he's doing, sneaky bastard.'
He stopped abruptly once more, and seized Tsuzuki by the shoulders.
"I'm not mad. I love you with all my heart and probably will until the end of time. But if you keep glomping me and suffocating me, I'll kick you on the head, ok?"
There was a few seconds of silence. Hisoka was staring right into the amethyst eyes, to his distress, with growing amusement. Tsuzuki stared right back, with a baffled expression, until his eyes turned shimmery again and Hisoka feared he'd been too rude.
"You...you...'Soka..."
The young man sighed.
'Please don't start crying again...please?'
"You really love me!!" Tsuzuki finished, taking the boy into his arms tightly again.
*sweatdrop*
It was useless.
-----------------------
It was really hard. Really, really hard, to find the right words to describe how happy he was feeling.
Maybe it felt like a sugar high? A sugar high caused by all sorts of sweets, but specially those with glaced sugar on top and tasty filling of all kinds of flavours.
Yup, yup.
Or maybe it felt like eating strawberry cake, with whipped cream and extra, extra sugar. There had to be a sweet that identified his feelings. Or maybe he was just hungry?
Never mind. Tsuzuki waltzed through the hall, quietly singing to himself his new mantra, and sure that all the birds in Meifuu had decided to join him.
"'Soka is my boyfriend! 'Soka is my boyfriend!" he sang over and over again, jumping a little with each step and earning him the confused stares from the people who happened to be walking the halls at the time.
He'd been properly kicked out of their office for shamelessly caressing Hisoka's leg with his bare foot while the young man tried to finish his load of files for the day. But he didn't mind.
And he wasn't in the least put out for what he was about to do. After all, he was convinced 'Soka was actually some type of human sweet and he was, indeed, suffering from a sugar high. He was just too happy to care.
Finally, he reached his destination and came to a stop in front of Tatsumi's door. The glass of said door graced him with a scene he was not ready for.
Tatsumi was sitting behind his desk. His face was abnormally red and his eyes were clutched tight. He was gripping the edge of the desk for dear life with one hand, while the other remained hidden under the desk and his breathing seemed very harsh.
It gave Tsuzuki quite a scare and he ran inside, at the same time trying to remember if shinigamis could have heart attacks.
"Tatsumi-san!!" the dark haired man yelped in distress.
The secretary opened his eyes -that were somewhat glassy- wide as saucers and gasped in surprise. He jumped on his seat and a loud bang was heard from under the desk, as well as a muffled yelp that Tsuzuki assumed it had been Tatsumi's. After all, he must have hit his knees horribly to make such noise. Tsuzuki was about to run to the other man's side when the secretary extended one hand, stopping him.
"Tatsumi-san, what's wrong? Do you feel ok?" he asked nervously.
Tatsumi took a deep, shaky breath and nodded.
"Don't...don't come near me, I've a bit...of a cold. You...you could catch something."
Tsuzuki took another step towards the brunette.
"I don't care! Let me help you!!" he said, his voice seeping with concern.
"No!!" Tatsumi shouted a bit too loudly and cleared his throat. "Seriously, Tsuzuki-san. I'm ok, I can manage!" his voice was turning desperate.
Tsuzuki shook his head stubbornly.
"I can take you to see Watari! You look awful!!"
Now something that sounded like a chuckle came from under the desk, followed by another bang and another yelp. Tatsumi tried to cover up by kicking the side of the desk a few more times and again clearing his throat.
Tsuzuki frowned.
"My leg...my leg is...er..." Little drops of cold sweat started to appear on the secretary's brow. "I think I do have to go to the infirmary. Let me finish with this reports and I'll go. Don't worry about me."
Tsuzuki hesitated for a moment. Now Tatsumi didn't look ill at all; just flushed and very embarrassed, which was far more worrying than the former. He could tell something weird was going on, but for the life of him, he couldn't figure it out. Maybe it was better if he didn't know, a part of his brain told him.
"Ok, Tatsumi-san. If you're sure..." Tatsumi nodded emphatically. "I just wanted to let you know I'll be out for an hour or two. I'll finish my work when I return, ok?"
Yes, something was definitively wrong, because Tatsumi just nodded and motioned him to go away. No reprimand, no yelling. Weird.
----------------
As soon as Tsuzuki was out of the door, Tatsumi jumped from his seat and under the desk. Of course, he was face to face with a pair of teary amber eyes and a beautiful blond head adorned with two big bumps.
The secretary took Watari's face with both hands and gently kissed the sore spot.
"Sweetie are you ok? I'm so sorry." he cooed as Watari snuggled next to him, whimpering slightly.
"Why'd you have to kick me?" the scientist whined.
"I'm sorry! He took me off guard, I didn't know what to do. Please don't get angry with me." Watari's only response was a low grunt, but Tatsumi wasn't worried, because the scientist encircled his waist with his arms and rested his head on his shoulder while he did so.
The secretary managed to get as comfortable as he could on the tiny space under his desk, pulling Watari close and comfortingly rubbing the scientist's back in circles. Though just a few minutes before they seemed to be having a lot more fun, he'd have to admit this was nice too.
But something was obvious. They'd have to stop doing...'it' at the office.
It wasn't as simple as it sounded though. They were two grown men...two very grown men, if you considered all the years they'd lived already, and they both had their structures and habits that would be very hard to break. Tatsumi knew it wasn't going to do to expect any of the two to change their ways. But it wasn't hopeless; not one bit. It was just a matter of using his brain; and if there was something Tatsumi was good at was thinking rationally.
Though the idea that he came up with defied rationality if he thought about the possible damage to his home. But that seemed to escape him at that moment.
"Sweetie?" he said softly, tucking a lock behind Watari's ear and causing the blond to sigh contently.
"What?"
"I have a spare room, you know?" his companion looked up and met his gaze, confusion and curiosity reflected on his features. "Well...," Tatsumi shrugged, "It's just that, when I got the place, I thought I could use it as a study. But I do all my work here, and that would have been spending money on furniture I wasn't really going to use. So then I thought about turning it into a library, but the truth is, I don't buy books. I always go to the library..." he stopped, feeling Watari chuckle.
"Cheap bastard." the other man said amusedly.
"Anyway,..." Tatsumi went on, ignoring Watari's words. "I was thinking...I'm not going to use that room; can't think of any use for it. And...well, the other day, when I took you back to your apartment I noticed that it's way too small for all the things you have there...Besides..." he shifted uncomfortably, "Well, my bed is bigger than yours and... It wouldn't mean anything because,...well, you could keep your stuff on that room; make it yours, and..."
"What are you saying?" Watari couldn't keep the feeling of anticipation from his voice.
Tatsumi locked eyes with him; he was nervous as hell and pretty sure he hadn't made any sense, but it was obvious Watari had picked up on it. The shadow master took a deep, deep breath and closed his eyes.
"Would you move in with me?"
He couldn't look; he just couldn't. It was too soon. Of course it was!! They had only made it official the day before and now he was asking Watari to move in with him?! What could have possessed him to say something so stupid? And Watari wasn't answering!! He'd blown it, he knew it.
Watari was mildly and pleasantly shocked. Whatever had Tatsumi meant by all that rambling before was out of his grasp, but his last question had been pretty much to the point. It did occur to him that it would mean he wouldn't get to stay at the lab so late as he was used to, and that the perfect balance that the complete mess that was his house probably wouldn't fit with Tatsumi's sense of perfection. Maybe that was what the other man had meant about the other room; thought he couldn't be sure. But he was surprised to discover it really didn't matter. Tatsumi wasn't going to force his life style onto him, that was for certain. And the prospect of sharing a home with the secretary- the same man who a week before wouldn't let anyone near- was more than appealing.
As amusing as it was seeing Tatsumi holding his breath, Watari felt it was time to give an answer. He just leaned over and nibbled the other man's ear viciously. He heard Tatsumi's sharp intake of breath and inwardly smiled.
"Is...that...a...a...?"
"Yes, silly." came the muffled reply. Those ears were just so edible!!
Watari showed his disappointment when Tatsumi moved away and his ministrations to the now reddened earlobe became impossible; but the shadow master was quick to give him something far more interesting to nibble on, when he captured his lips in a heated kiss that promised them to return to their previous activities. Watari offhandedly wondered if Tatsumi knew any other kind of kiss.
It wasn't long though, before Watari hit his head with the top of the desk once more. His head could only take so much, and so they pulled away, silently agreeing that it wasn't such a good idea after all. The secretary smiled sheepishly.
"We can't do anything here; that much's for certain." Watari nodded his agreement. "But I promise you tonight I'll take you out to dinner and then you can crash at my...er...our place for the night, so we can continue." he said the last bit in a wistful tone, stroking Watari's cheek gently.
They both crawled out from under the desk, dusting their clothes off. Watari sighed.
"Well...I guess I should go back to the lab...keep pretending to work..."
Tatsumi smiled knowingly.
"Yeah, you make it sound like a joke. Don't think I'm not on to you. I'm still your boss, you know?"
"I thought Konoe was our boss." Watari said innocently.
"..."
"Well, you can't blame me." Watari thought of something. Tatsumi could tell from the gleam on his love's eyes and the mischief on his face. "It's hard not to slack when you work on a lab that has no windows, a lock and a comfy, make-shift bed in it."
As soon as those words left his mouth, Watari noticed delighted that he was being dragged rather forcefully towards his lab.
Yes, life was *good*!!
-----------------------
Ah, it had all seemed so easy when he'd thought about it!!
Yet again, Tsuzuki Asato found himself on a familiar school yard. He was starting to recognise some of the faces now. He was practically sure he had heard a good part of those kids' lives from their conversations as they talked to each other oblivious of him for the last three days.
He even felt the urge to jump in on one of the conversations and give them some piece of advice. Well, they were talking about food, you see.
This time his hands were shaking for an entire different reason than last time, but shaking nonetheless. He started to realise how awkward this meeting would be. As much as his brain- and his heart- had registered the fact that he'd been dating Hisoka all along, he'd still felt funny inside at the thought of seeing Hijiri again.
But it had to be done. He had to leave all that sorry mess behind him once and for all and he did care about Hijiri. The boy had been a part on all of it; abeit not as he'd thought at first. Tsuzuki still had a thing or two to say to the young man.
He steeled him self and took a deep breath as soon as he saw the young man. 'It wasn't him, it wasn't him', he repeated over and over again in his mind. Amazingly enough, now that he was paying attention, he couldn't understand how he'd mistaken the two seemingly identical boys. Hijiri carried himself in a completely different manner. Upon a closer look, he could even see physical differences!!
Hijiri didn't seem to notice his presence. He was chatting happily with two friends when Tsuzuki tapped on his shoulder. He turned around and his eyes opened wide when he saw the older man. He smiled nervously and fidgeted a little.
"Tsuzuki! Hi! What...? What are you doing here?"
Now he could understand why Hijiri seemed so nervous when he saw him. The boy didn't know yet that their cover had been blown. And Tsuzuki knew he had a boyfriend around there somewhere. Still, his own nervousness was immediately replaced with an immense sense of gratitude; all he could think of doing was pulling Hijiri on a bear hug that made the young man gasp.
"What?...What is it?!" Hijiri asked rather anxiously.
From over the boy's shoulder, Tsuzuki could see the confused looks of his friends and he could feel Hijiri looking around in every direction.
"It's ok, Hijiri. I know." he pulled away, gracing the young man with his widest smile. "Hisoka told me everything!"
Hijiri stared at him, blinking confusedly.
"*What* exactly do you know?" the young man asked hesitantly, to make sure he wasn't about to say something he shouldn't.
Tsuzuki hugged him again. He was in the mood for hugging that day, it seemed.
"Everything! I know that he pretended to be you, and that you were helping him!!"
When Tsuzuki placed the boy back on the ground, Hijiri blushed furiously and stared at him in disbelief.
"You know?" Tsuzuki nodded, smiling brightly. "And you're not mad?" Tsuzuki shook his head no. "Oh."
"Actually," Tsuzuki cheered, "I'm forever thankful to you! If it weren't for you, 'Soka-chan wouldn't be my boyfriend!! Do you know what that means?! 'Soka-chan is *my* boyfriend!!"
Oblivious to all the people around him, Tsuzuki begun singing his little song again. Hijiri, as well as his friends, sweat dropped.
"What is that doctor doing here?" one of the boys whispered to the other, that just shrugged, flabbergasted. "Was he this crazy when he worked here?"
"I'm happy for you. I'm glad everything turned out alright." Hijiri said finally, smiling somewhat sadly. "And I'm glad you didn't get angry with me."
Tsuzuki noticed it; the slight sadness on the boy's eyes. He wasn't as dense as everyone thought. And it broke his heart to see it.
To Hijiri's surprise, Tsuzuki pulled him into another hug but, unlike the enthusiastic, choking hug he'd received earlier, this one was awfully gentle and warm. In spite of himself, Hijiri leaned into the hug, smiling.
"I know what it meant to you, Hijiri. How much it cost you." Tsuzuki whispered softly. "You have no idea how thankful I am and how much this means to me."
"I love you, you know?" Hijiri whispered, closing his eyes so that fighting his tears wasn't as tenuous.
Tsuzuki tightened his hold.
"I love you too."
"Yeah,...I know, just not the way...I wish,...you know?"
"Yeah." Tsuzuki sighed and pulled away slightly. "But, if I'm not mistaken, you've found a pretty handsome guy, haven't you?" Hijiri blushed and nodded. "I guess we tall, dark haired hunks are irresistible, huh?" he joked "Does he love you? Is he good to you? Cause if he hurts you..."
Hijiri's blush deepened and he waved him off nervously.
"No, no! He's...he's great. I'm actually pretty happy."
"Good." Tsuzuki answered honestly.
After a long talk, Hijiri and Tsuzuki parted ways. Hijiri felt melancholic when the older man left. It would be a long while before he was finally over his feelings for him. But he was more than happy to know Tsuzuki wasn't going to disappear from his life. That had been his greatest fear; that upon finding out, the older man would hate him. He had thought about it and, in the end, Tsuzuki's happiness had meant more to him.
Tsuzuki was moved and very surprised at the young man's selflessness. It made his heart swell. He'd make sure to make it up to him someday. After all, he owed him everything; more than what he'd ever be able to give.
Remembering exactly what was waiting for him thanks to Hijiri, Tsuzuki rushed back to his office to see if he could convince 'Soka-chan of sneaking out of the office earlier and have a real first date.
The incident at Tatsumi's office played back in his mind and he smiled. Yes he'd been dense; but being slow to catch up didn't mean he wouldn't catch up eventually. He couldn't wait to tell Hisoka what he'd seen.
Who'd have thought? Tatsumi, of all people.
Apparently, not much work would get done in Meifuu for a long while.
---------------------
The last bag was set in the trunk of the small car and Oriya sighed contently after closing it with a loud thud. He didn't know if it was the beautiful day, the warm air or the fact that he was finally going home, but Oriya was in a good mood.
He practically ran inside the motel room to get Muraki, trying not to start singing to himself.
In spite his hurry, he couldn't help to stop at the doorframe when he entered the room. He let a small smile play with his lips when he saw Muraki. The good doctor as standing next to the window; the evening light illuminated his figure in such a way, that for a moment Oriya couldn't see the bandages and the scars. For a split second, Muraki stood tall and proud, just as he'd always had. But eventually a cloud took the last rays of light away and Muraki's crumpled figure resurged.
Oriya approached him and gently encircled his friend's shoulders, removing him from his contemplation. Muraki looked at him, the same fog in his gaze, and whispered.
"Where are we going?"
"We're going home, Sensei. Remember I told you?"
"Home..." Muraki said softly, as it trying to make sense of the word.
The swordsman deposited his friend on the passenger seat and struggled to fasten his seatbelt. Muraki resumed looking at the darkening evening sky pretty much ignoring Oriya.
Or at least that was what he'd thought. The dark haired man rushed his way into the drivers seat and was about to speed out of there as fast as he could when he felt a gaze upon him. Startled, he turned around to see that Muraki was, indeed, staring at him curiously.
Oriya smiled.
"Sensei? Is there something you need?"
There was a slight surprise in the silver eyes. It was short lived though. Muraki stared at Oriya's eyes and, before the swordsman had a time to either freak out or stop him, the doctor placed a soft kiss on his lips.
It was so fast that Oriya, shocked out of his mind, wasn't sure it hadn't been a product of his imagination. Oriya hadn't even blinked and Muraki was already staring at the sky again; as if nothing had happened.
"Sensei?" he said weakly, unconsciously touching his lips.
"I just wanted to say thank you." the doctor whispered without turning around.
He wouldn't turn around; he was too engrossed in admiring the bloody red moon rising on the horizon, with a smirk on his face.
~THE END~